A dramatic global rise in the number of executions recorded in 2015 saw more people put to death than at any point in the last quarter of the century, Amnesty International reported on Wednesday.
It said in its review of global use of the death penalty that the surge was largely fuelled by Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The organisation said that no fewer than 1,634 people were executed in 2015, a rise of more than 50 per cent in the year before and the highest number it had recorded since 1989.
“The above total number does not include China where thousands more were likely executed, but where death penalty data is treated as a state secret.
“The rise in executions last year is profoundly disturbing. Not for the last 25 years have so many people been put to death by states around the world.
“In 2015, governments continued relentlessly to deprive people of their lives on the false premise that the death penalty would make us safer,” Amnesty International’s Secretary-General, Salil Shetty, said.
“Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have all put people to death at unprecedented levels, often after grossly unfair trials; this slaughter must end.
“Thankfully, countries that execute belong to a small and increasingly isolated minority.
“The majority of states have turned their back on the death penalty, and in 2015, four more countries completely removed this barbaric punishment from the laws,” he said, and named the countries as Fiji, Madagascar, Republic of Congo and Suriname.
Shetty said that Mongolia had also passed a new criminal code abolishing the death penalty, which would take effect later in 2016.
“For the first time ever, a majority of the world’s countries, 102, have now fully abolished the death penalty.
“In total, 140 states across the globe are abolitionist in law or practice.
“2015 was a year of extremes. We saw some very disquieting developments but also developments that give cause for hope.
“ Four countries completely abolished the death penalty, meaning that the majority of the world has now banned this most horrendous of punishments,” he said.
“Whatever the short-term setbacks, the long-term trend is still clear, the world is moving away from the death penalty.
“Those countries that still execute need to realize that they are on the wrong side of history and abolish the ultimate cruel and inhuman form of punishment,” he added.
On the Middle East and North Africa, the Amnesty report said that the use of death penalty spiked in 2015 in a region that was already an enormous cause for concern.
“All countries in the region except Oman and Israel imposed death sentences, while eight states executed people.
“At least, 1,196 executions were carried out, an increase of 26 per cent on the figures recorded for 2014, and mainly due to the rises in Iran and Saudi Arabia,’’ it said, adding that sub-Saharan Africa had positive and negative developments.
“ Madagascar and Republic of Congo both abolished the death penalty completely, and the number of death sentences imposed fell sharply from 909 in 2014 to 443 in 2015, mainly due to a reduction in Nigeria.
“Iran alone accounted for 82 per cent of all executions as recorded in the region.
“The number of executions recorded dropped slightly from 46 to 43 in the year before.
“Chad, however, resumed executions after more than 12 years when 10 suspected Boko Haram members were put to death by firing squad in August,” Amnesty said.