China, Middle East dominate 2020 list of top executioners

ANI
22 Apr 2021, 17:33 GMT+10

London [UK], April 22 (ANI): While the year 2020 witnessed an overall decrease in the number of global death penalties, some countries increased the number of executions they carried out amidst the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by a rights group.

"As the world focused on finding ways to protect lives from Covid-19, several governments showed a disturbing determination to resort to the death penalty and execute people no matter what," said Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, in its annual global review of the death penalty.

According to the report, China classifies the total number of its executions and death sentences as a state secret and prevents independent scrutiny. Therefore, Amnesty International's figures for all known executions do not include executions in China.

"However, China is believed to execute thousands each year, making it once again the world's most prolific executioner ahead of Iran (246), Egypt (107), Iraq (45) and Saudi Arabia (27). Iran, Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia accounted for 88 per cent of all known executions in 2020," the report said.

Egypt tripled the number of yearly executions and became the world's third most frequent executioner in 2020, the report said.

Globally, at least 483 people were known to have been executed in 2020 (excluding countries that classify death penalty data as state secrets, or for which limited information is available - China, North Korea, Syria, and Viet Nam).

"Shocking as this figure is, it is the lowest number of executions recorded by Amnesty International in at least a decade. It represents a decrease of 26 per cent compared to 2019, and 70 per cent from the high-peak of 1,634 executions in 2015," the report added. (ANI)

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Vietnam Tribune.

More Information

null in null

Southeast Asia

Section

Trump signals progress on India Trade, criticizes Japan stance

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump says the United States could soon reach a trade deal with India. He believes this deal would...

Vietnam, India have trade target of USD 15 billion: Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Hai

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 7 (ANI): Vietnam's Ambassador to India, Nguyen Thanh Hai, highlighted the strong cooperation between...

Ahmadi man charged with blasphemy for distributing food on Ashura in Pakistan

Gujranwala [Pakistan], July 7 (ANI): Authorities in Pakistan have charged a member of the persecuted Ahmadiyya community with blasphemy...

Afghan refugees in Pakistan urge US to resume refugee resettlement programme amid delays

Islamabad [Pakistan], July 7 (ANI): Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan have appealed to the United States to immediately resume the...

RSS discusses issues from Manipur to Operation Sindoor during three-day Pracharak meet

New Delhi [India], July 7 (ANI): The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's (RSS) three-day All India Pracharak Meeting, held at Delhi's Keshav...

Kareena Kapoor shares glimpse of her 'very busy' man Saif Ali Khan

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 7 (ANI): Actor Kareena Kapoor, who often shares every part of her life, has again shared a glimpse...

International

Section