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Death penalty 2011: Alarming levels of executions in the few countries that kill
The rise in Iran ( at least 360 ) and Saudi Arabia ( at least 182) alone accounted for
the net increase in recorded executions across the world of 149,
compared to 2010
 27 March 2012
Countries
that carried out executions in 2011 did so at an alarming rate but
those employing capital punishment have decreased by more than a third
compared to a decade ago, Amnesty International found in its annual
review of death sentences and executions.
Only 10 percent 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 per cent on the previous year.
This
was due to four countries – Iraq (at least 68 executions), Iran (at
least 360), Saudi Arabia (at least 82) and Yemen (at least 41) – which
accounted for 99 per cent 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 four 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 three 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 four unconfirmed executions of juvenile offenders were
reported there, and one 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 two 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 seven 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 five death sentences handed
down in Papua New Guinea. No executions were recorded in Singapore and,
for the first 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.
Four
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 two men.
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