Capital punishment is legal in most countries of the Middle East. Much of the motivation for the retention of the death penalty has been religious in nature, as the Qur'an allows or mandates executions for various offences.

Moratoria and abolition

Israel

Almost all death penalties were abolished by legislation in 1954 except for serious crimes committed during wartime. The last execution to ever take place in Israel was that of

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ,"Eichmann"
''

Sbarro suicide bombing, right-wing newspapers called for the perpetrators to be executed but Ahlmam Tamimi was only sentenced to prison. In January 2018, the Knesset made a preliminary vote on a bill introducing death penalty for terrorism.

Turkey

In Turkey, capital punishment was fully abolished in 2004 for all crimes. In 2018, Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

and his right-wing government coalition partners agreed to a proposal that could see the death penalty restored in Turkey against anyone sentenced for terrorism.

Abolition advocacy

Attempts

In Lebanon in 2008, then-Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar introduced a draft law to Parliament which would abolish the death penalty. While the law failed to pass, he continued to advocate for the abolition for the rest of his time in office. Farouk Ksentini, chairman of Algeria's National Advisory Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (CNCPPDH), stated in 2010 that he would advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. This aroused opposition from Islamist groups.

Places with the death penalty

The following, groups, nations, or governments currently enforce the death penalty: * Libya * Egypt * Iraq * Iraqi Kurdistan * Kingdom of Saudi Arabia * Syria * Gaza * Palestinian Authority * Lebanon * Jordan * Iran * Qatar * United Arab Emirates * Yemen (Hadi and Houthi governments) * Sultanate of Oman

References

External links

Death sentences and executions in the Middle East and North Africa in 2009
– by

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

{{Human rights in the Middle East Capital punishment