HOURS ago, a man was executed in Saudi Arabia, continuing the rising trend in executions worldwide.
The Middle East is among the deadliest countries executions – behind Chinawhere “thousands” have reportedly been slaughtered for dissent and crimes such as drug trafficking and bribery.
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IranThe increased use of the death penalty for drug offenses is believed to have contributed to 2023 being the deadliest year for executions since 2015 – when 1,634 known executions were carried out.
Last year, executions increased in frequency in the United States and Somalia, while China carried out “thousands” of executions.
North Korea has now passed a new law law making the death penalty a possible punishment for not using the Korean native language.
According to Amnesty's new report 'Death Sentences and Executions', a total of 1,153 executions were carried out last year.
This figure does not include the thousands believed to have occurred in China – an increase of more than 30 percent from 2022.
And there was a 20 percent increase in the number of death sentences handed down worldwide, bringing the total to 2,428.
Amnesty claimed that China was once again the world's top executioner, but could not provide figures on the country – or on North Korea and Vietnam – due to 'state secrecy'.
Official reports from such countries indicated that the death penalty was used as a tool to maintain control and suppress dissent.
China, Iran, Saudi ArabiaSomalia and the United States carried out the most executions in the world last year.
According to Amnesty, Iran has carried out 74 percent of all recorded executions, while Saudi Arabia carried out 15 percent.
Executions were known to have taken place in sixteen countries – the lowest number ever recorded by Amnesty.
No executions have been recorded in Belarus, JapanMyanmar or South Sudan, despite carrying out executions in 2022.
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said: “The huge spike in recorded executions was mainly due to Iran.
“Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and increased executions for drug-related crimes, further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalized and impoverished communities.”
Just hours before Amnesty declared China the world leader in executions, a prisoner was murdered in Saudi Arabia
Just before the rights group announced that global executions had risen to the highest level in almost a decade with China leading the way, a man was murdered in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi national Muwaffaq bin Saleh bin Sunaid Al-Harbi was executed on Tuesday for “committing a terrorist crime”, the country's Interior Ministry said.
It states that he was accused of joining a terrorist group and sworn allegiance to its leader, carrying out the group's orders by helping to kill a man, financing terrorismand possession of weapons with intent to commit criminal acts.
The ministry does not want to say how the execution was carried out.
In March 2022, Saudi Arabia carried out the largest mass execution in decades, killing 81 men, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian.
The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020.
The crimes ranged from murder to joining militant groups or harboring 'deviant beliefs'.
Rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of enforcing restrictive laws on political and religious expression, and criticized the country for using the death penalty, including for defendants arrested when they were minors.
Saudi Arabia denies allegations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
At least 853 people were executed in Iran in 2023 – a 48 percent increase from 576 in 2022 – including at least 24 women and five children.
Of the executions recorded in Iran, approximately 545 were carried out unlawfully for acts such as drug-related crimes, theft and espionage – crimes that should not lead to the death penalty under international law.
Fifty-six percent of Iranian executions were carried out as punishment for drug-related crimes.
The number of executions in the US rose from 18 in 2022 to 24 last year accounts In Idaho and Tennessee, the option to carry out killings by firing squad was introduced, and in Montana a measure was considered to expand the number of substances used in lethal injections.
In South Carolina, another new law was signed to conceal the identities of those involved in carrying out executions.
Amnesty's Callamard said: “A select number of US states have shown a chilling commitment to the death penalty and a callous intention to invest resources in taking human lives.”
The number of executions in sub-Saharan Africa more than tripled, from 11 in 2022 to 38 last year, and death sentences rose 66 percent, from 298 in 2022 to 494 last year.
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