The number of executions worldwide is increasing significantly, according to the human rights organization Amnesty International.
At least 883 people were executed last year after being sentenced to death – the highest number in five years.
The figure can be compared to the 579 confirmed executions that took place globally in 2021.
However, the statistics do not include China, which is feared to execute thousands of people every year, but which keeps information about them secret.
Connection to drugs
The majority of global executions take place as a result of drug-related crimes such as drug smuggling. The number of people executed for that type of crime more than doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year. The drug-related executions thus accounted for approximately 40 percent of the total number of executions in the world, notes Amnesty International in its annual report, which is published on Tuesday.
After China, the most executions took place in Iran, where 576 people were executed last year. Saudi Arabia stood out in the statistics by executing 81 people in a single day. A total of 196 people were killed in the conservative kingdom, which is three times as many as the year before.
Executions have been reported from 20 countries. In 2022, five countries – Afghanistan, Kuwait, Myanmar, Palestine and Singapore – also chose to reinstate the death penalty.
Six states are abolishing
At the same time, six countries have completely or partially abolished the death penalty. Kazakhstan, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic and Papua New Guinea abolished it altogether while Equatorial Guinea and Zambia abolished the death penalty for certain types of crimes.
“As more and more countries choose to scrap the death penalty, it is time for other countries to follow suit. Countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea and Vietnam that carry out these brutal acts are now in the minority. These countries must urgently follow the development, protect human rights and practice justice instead of executing people,” says Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard in a press release.
Graphics: TT
Graphics: TT