There were more executions worldwide in 2015 than in any year since 1990 and almost 90 percent occurred in three countries - Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, human rights watchdog Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
An execution room, seen at the Tokyo Detention House, in Katsushika. (Photo: AFP)
BERLIN: There were more executions worldwide in 2015 than in
any year since 1990 and almost 90 percent occurred in three countries:
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, human rights watchdog Amnesty
International said on Wednesday (Apr 6).
At least 1,634 people were executed last year, the
organisation said, adding that the actual number was probably
significantly higher given that there are no definitive numbers for
China.
"The number of known executions rose by more than 50 percent
compared with 2014 - this development is unsettling and alarming," said
Oliver Hendrich, an expert on capital punishment at Amnesty
International in Germany.
At least 977 people were executed in Iran last year, mostly
for drug crimes, Amnesty said, while more than 320 death sentences were
carried out in Pakistan and at least 158 people were executed in Saudi
Arabia.
In the United States, 28 people were executed last year - the lowest number since 1991, Amnesty said.
Countries that impose the death penalty are in the minority
for the first time now, Amnesty said. It added that 102 countries had
got rid of the death penalty for all crimes by the end of 2015, compared
with 60 countries in 1996.
- Reuters
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