In its annual report on the death penalty worldwide, the international human rights organization counts a total of 1,153 executions in 16 countries in 2023, but warns that this number "does not include the thousands [of executions] believed to have been carried out in China".

The number represents an increase of more than 30% compared to 2022 and was the highest recorded by Amnesty International since 2015, when the known number of people executed reached 1,634.

"The huge increase in recorded executions was due primarily to Iran," explains Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, quoted in the document.

"The Iranian authorities have shown utter disregard for human life and have intensified executions for drug-related offences, further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalized and impoverished communities," the representative adds.

According to the document presented today by the non-governmental organization (NGO), despite the increase in executions recorded in 2023, the number of countries that applied the death penalty was the lowest ever recorded by Amnesty International.

"Despite the setbacks we have witnessed this year, especially in the Middle East, the countries that still carry out executions are increasingly isolated," stresses the Secretary General of Amnesty International, stating that the organization's campaign against "this abominable punishment" is working and will continue until it can "put an end to the death penalty".

The report identifies China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the United States as the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023, with Iran accounting for 74% of all executions recorded.

Despite the figures associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the organization admits that China "remained the world's leading executioner", because the true extent of the use of the death penalty in the country remains unknown, as this data is classified as a state secret.

As such, the global number recorded by Amnesty International excludes the thousands of executions believed to have been carried out in China, as well as those carried out in Vietnam and North Korea, where the organization estimates that the death penalty has been practiced extensively.

"The vast majority of known executions took place in China (thousands), Iran (at least 853), Saudi Arabia (172), Somalia (at least 38) and the United States (24)," the report states, adding that it recorded executions in 16 countries, a decrease compared to the previous report, when the global number stood at 20 states.

The end of the death penalty is still a long way off, laments Amnesty International, which recalls that at the end of last year, at least 27,687 people were sentenced to death.

During the year, 2,428 new death sentences were imposed in 52 countries, indicating an increase compared to the previous year, when 2,016 sentences were recorded.

"There was a 20% increase in the number of death sentences handed down globally in 2023," the document highlights.

In this area, the largest increases occurred in Bangladesh (from 169 people in 2022 to 248 in 2023), Egypt (from 538 to 590), Iraq (from 41 to 138) and Kenya (from 79 to 131).

On the other hand, there were significant decreases in the number of death sentences imposed in Algeria (from 54 people in 2022 to 38 last year), the Democratic Republic of Congo (from 76 to 33), Gambia (from nine to five) and India (from 165 to 120).

PMC // SCA

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