The number of executions in the world has increased by almost a third - Amnesty International

According to Amnesty International, at least 1,153 people were executed in 2023. About this UNN writes with Reference to the report of the organization.

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According to the report, at least 1,153 people were executed in 2023: beheaded, hanged, shot or poisoned. The price is 31% higher than in the previous year: in 2022, at least 883 sentences were carried out. The 2023 figure was the highest since 2015, when Amnesty International registered 1,634 death penalty cases.

Of the 16 countries that carried out death sentences last year, a sharp increase was recorded in Iran (at least 853 executions) and Saudi Arabia (172 executions). More sentences (compared to 2022) were carried out in Somalia (at least 38) and the United States (24).

The number of new death sentences passed worldwide in 2023 also increased by 20% (2,428 sentences in 52 countries).

Information about the number of death sentences and executions in China is a state secret, but Amnesty International suggests that we may be talking about thousands of people executed in this country. The same applies to North Korea and Vietnam, which human rights activists suspect of carrying out large-scale executions.

AI considers it a success to reduce the number of countries that carry out death sentences. The number of countries that carried out death sentences decreased from 20 in 2022 to 16 in 2023. As of today, the death penalty has been discontinued in 144 countries.

In Belarus, Japan, Myanmar and South Sudan, the death sentences of 2023 were not carried out. Belarus remains the only country in Europe where prisoners are sentenced to death. Last year, the legislation in Ukraine was tightened - now the death penalty is provided for officials and military personnel convicted of treason.

In 2023, Belarus passed one death sentence: against a 47-year-old man who was found guilty by a court of torturing and murdering his three-year-old son.

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In some countries where death sentences are imposed, the death penalty is used as a political tool. According to a report by Amnesty International, the Iranian authorities are increasingly using the death penalty to intimidate the population and strengthen their power.

Of the total number of death sentences, more than 60% were carried out for crimes that should not be punishable by death under international law, in particular drug-related crimes.

AI is also concerned about the situation in the United States, where the number of executions has increased from 18 to 24. in the US states of Idaho and Tennessee, bills have been introduced allowing executions by firing squad, and in the state of Montana, they are considering expanding the list of substances that are used for lethal injections.

AI also recorded a" sharp increase in the number of executions " in Somalia: the number increased from six in 2022 to 38 in 2023. The number of recorded death sentences in sub - Saharan Africa increased by 66% to 494.