Hussein al-Sakit, 22, who was convicted of raping and murdering the five-year-old girl, Safaa al-Matari, is hanged on a crane after being executed at the Tahrir Square in downtown Sanaa, Yemen August 14, 2017. (Reuters Photo)

BEIRUT, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's parliament on Wednesday scrapped a controversial law allowing rapists who marry their victims to go free, the official National News Agency reported.

"It is no longer possible to escape punishment for rape and sexual acts carried out by force and coercion," said a human rights group, which has spearheaded the campaign to repeal the much-reviled article.

The article, which also dealt with the rape of minors, allowed for the perpetrator of sexual assault to avoid prosecution by marrying their victim.

There are no precise figures on how many rapists marry their victims to avoid punishment, but activists say the practice mainly took place in rural areas.

Danielle al-Hweik, a Lebanon lawer, hailed the ruling as the result of pressure from activists, but said there would be new battles ahead.

Among the legal provisions rights groups want repealed are articles that allow a person accused of "consensual" sexual relations with a minor under 15 to avoid sanction by marrying the minor.