Lebanon's parliament on Wednesday passed a sweeping and long-awaited amnesty law that should benefit thousands of prisoners and wanted people, in the first legislation of its kind since 1991.

The law, which had been a demand of various political factions and a topic of debate for years, aims to reduce prison overcrowding, with many inmates awaiting trial for years.

The office of the country's parliament speaker announced the "approval of a draft law aimed at granting a general amnesty and exceptionally reducing the terms of certain sentences".

The authorities did not immediately announce the number of people who would benefit from the law.

A general amnesty was brought back into the limelight after the 2024 fall of Syria's former ruler Bashar al-Assad, as many prisoners in Lebanon were jailed over events linked to the Syrian civil war.