Executions across the world reach highest level since 2015
Global executions have reached their highest level since 2015 last year, with the Middle East responsible for over 90% of the deaths, the Middle East Eye reported on April 8th.
A report by Amnesty International said that 1,518 death penalties happened across 15 countries in 2024. A majority of them were in the Middle East.
Amnesty International has said Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq are serious offenders of these penalties, with the death penalty typically being “weaponised” against protestors and ethnic minority groups. It has also been said that more than 40% of executions last year were conducted “unlawfully” for drug-related crimes.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general said: “The death penalty is an abhorrent crime with no place in today’s world.” Callamard also said: “States that retain it are an isolated minority.”
Iran executed at least 972 people, 119 more than the previous year. “Iranian authorities use the death penalty as a tool of political suppression,” said Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of Iran Human Rights. He further said that “they aim to instil fear in the society in order to prevent new protests.”
Iraq nearly quadrupled its executions to at least 63. Human Rights Watch accused Iraq of ramping up “unlawful” mass executions in 2024. “The escalation in executions in this manner raises serious concerns,” warned Afada Observatory.
Saudi Arabia executed at least 345 people, including more than 100 foreigners, the highest number of foreigners executed in a single year. Reprieve accused Saudi Arabia of misleading the UN about its death penalty practices, while Saudi human rights defenders and lawyers alleged that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has overseen a clampdown on dissenters.
In Syria, the then Justice Minister, Shadi al-Waisi, appeared in a video, which showed him reading execution sentences in Idlib, as reported by Middle East Eye on January 5th.
But the number of countries carrying out executions dropped to 15 last year, the lowest on record. Callamard said: “This signals a move away from this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.”
Middle East Eye, Amnesty International
