Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 11
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
Amnesty International says that except for China, Iran alone has accounted for 55 percent of all recorded executions in the world, but the overall number of executions carried out in Iran in 2016, dropped by 42 percent (from at least 977 to at least 567) compared to the previous year.
The report, published on Amnesty International’s website also says it recorded a 37% decrease in the number of executions carried out globally in 2016 as against the previous year.
“At least 1,032 people were executed − 602 fewer than in 2015 when the organization recorded the highest number of executions in a single year since 1989”.
These numbers do not include the thousands of executions carried out in China, where data on the use of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan carried out 87 percent of the global total executions.
“Iraq more than tripled its executions and Egypt and Bangladesh doubled theirs,” says the report.
A significant decrease in the implementation of death sentences was also recorded in Pakistan, by 73 percent. Executions also noticeably fell in Indonesia, Somalia and the USA.
For the first time since 2006, the USA did not feature among the world’s top five countries, due partly to litigation and challenges in sourcing chemicals used in lethal injection procedures.
Amnesty International recorded executions in 23 countries, two fewer than in 2015.