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| Public execution in Iran |
Countries that carried out executions in 2011 did so at an alarming rate but
those employing capital punishment have decreased by more than 1/3 compared to
a decade ago, Amnesty International found in its annual review of death
sentences and executions.
Only 10 % of countries in the world, 20 out of 198, carried out executions last
year.
People were executed or sentenced to death for a range of offences including
adultery and sodomy in Iran, blasphemy in Pakistan, sorcery in Saudi Arabia,
the trafficking of human bones in the Republic of Congo, and drug offences in
more than 10 countries.
Methods of execution in 2011 included beheading, hanging, lethal injection and
shooting.
Some 18,750 people remained under sentence of death at the end of 2011 and at
least 676 people were executed worldwide.
But these figures do not include the thousands of executions that Amnesty
International believes were carried out in China, where the numbers are
suppressed.
Nor do they account for the probable extent of Iran’s use of the death penalty
– Amnesty International has had credible reports of substantial numbers of
executions not officially acknowledged.
"The vast majority of countries have moved away from using the death penalty,"
said Salil Shetty Secretary General of Amnesty International.
"Our message to the leaders of the isolated minority of countries that continue
to execute is clear: you are out of step with the rest of the world on this
issue and it is time you took steps to end this most cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishment."
In the Middle East there has been a steep rise in recorded executions – up
almost 50 % on the previous year.
This was due to 4 countries – Iraq (at least 68 executions), Iran (at least
360), Saudi Arabia (at least 82) and Yemen (at least 41) – which accounted for
99 % of all recorded executions in the Middle East and North Africa. The rise
in Iran and Saudi Arabia alone accounted for the net increase in recorded
executions across the world of 149, compared to 2010.
Thousands of people were executed in China in 2011, more than the rest of the
world put together. Figures on the death penalty are a state secret. Amnesty
International has stopped publishing figures it collects from public sources in
China as these are likely to grossly underestimate the true number.
The organization renewed its challenge to the Chinese authorities to publish
data on those executed and sentenced to death, in order to confirm their claims
that various changes in law and practice have led to a significant reduction in
the use of the death penalty in the country over the last 4 years.
In Iran, Amnesty International received credible reports of a large number of
unconfirmed or even secret executions which would almost double the levels
officially acknowledged.
At least 3 people were executed in Iran for crimes that were committed when
they were under 18 years of age, in violation of international law. A further 4
unconfirmed executions of juvenile offenders were reported there, and 1 in
Saudi Arabia.
The United States was again the only country in the Americas and the only
member of the G8 group of leading economies to execute prisoners – 43 in 2011.
Europe and former Soviet Union countries were capital punishment-free, apart
from Belarus where 2 people were executed. The Pacific was death penalty-free
except for five death sentences in Papua New Guinea.
In Belarus and Vietnam, prisoners were not informed of their forthcoming
execution, nor were their families or lawyers. Public judicial executions were
known to have been carried out in North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Somalia, as
well as in Iran.
In the majority of countries where people were sentenced to death or executed,
the trials did not meet international fair trial standards. In some, this
involved the extraction of 'confessions' through torture or other duress
including in China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Saudi Arabia.
Foreign nationals were disproportionately affected by the use of the death
penalty, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
But even in those countries that continue to execute on a high level some
progress was made in 2011.
In China, the government eliminated the death penalty for 13 mainly 'white
collar' crimes, and measures were also put forward to the National People’s
Congress to reduce the number of cases of torture in detention, strengthen the
role of defence lawyers and ensure suspects in capital cases are represented by
a lawyer.
In the USA, the number of executions and new death sentences dropped
dramatically from a decade ago. Illinois became the 16th state to abolish the
death penalty. A moratorium was announced in the state of Oregon. And victims
of violent crimes spoke out against the death penalty
"Even among the small group of countries that executed in 2011, we can see
gradual progress. These are small steps but such incremental measures have been
shown ultimately to lead to the end of the death penalty," said Salil Shetty.
"It is not going to happen overnight but we are determined that we will see the
day when the death penalty is consigned to history."
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception
regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender or
the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The death penalty
violates the right to life and is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading
punishment.
Regional summaries
The Americas
The US was once again the only executioner in the Americas. A total of 43
executions were recorded in 13 of the 34 states that retain the death penalty,
a drop by a third since 2001, and 78 new death sentences were recorded in 2011,
a decrease by half since 2001.
The Caribbean
An execution-free area, with the number of countries imposing new death
sentences appearing to be in decline. Only three countries are known to have
handed down a total of six death sentences: Guyana, Saint Lucia and Trinidad
and Tobago.
Asia-Pacific
Positive signs questioning the legitimacy of capital punishment were evident
throughout the region in 2011. Not counting the thousands of executions that
were believed to have taken place in China, at least 51 executions were
reported to have been carried out in 7 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. At
least 833 new death sentences were known to have been imposed in 18 countries
in the region. The Pacific sub-region was death penalty-free with the exception
of 5 death sentences handed down in Papua New Guinea. No executions were
recorded in Singapore and, for the 1st time in 19 years, Japan. The authorities
in both countries have previously shown strong support for capital punishment.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Significant progress in 2011 - Benin adopted legislation to ratify the key UN
treaty aimed at abolishing the death penalty. Sierra Leone declared, and
Nigeria confirmed, official moratoriums on executions. And the Constitutional
Review Commission in Ghana recommended the abolition of the death penalty.
There were at least 22 executions in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa:
Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan. Only 14 of the 49 countries in the region are
classified as retaining the death penalty.
Middle East and North Africa
At least 558 executions could be confirmed in eight countries. At least 750
death sentences imposed in 2011 could be confirmed in 15 countries. The
continuing violence in countries such as Libya, Syria and Yemen made it
particularly difficult to gather adequate information on the use of the death
penalty in the region in 2011. No information was available about judicial
executions in Libya, and no death sentences are known to have been imposed.
Extrajudicial executions, torture and arbitrary detention were often resorted
to instead.
4 countries – Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen – accounted for 99 per cent of
all recorded executions in the Middle East and North Africa. The authorities of
Algeria, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco/Western Sahara and Qatar imposed
death sentences but continued to refrain from carrying out executions.
Europe and Central Asia
Belarus was the only country in Europe and the former Soviet Union, and apart
from the USA the only one in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE), to have carried out executions in 2011, executing 2 men.
Source: Amnesty International, March 27, 2012