TOP 5 countries with the highest number of death sentences
8 April 08:54
According to Amnesty International’s annual report, Death Sentences and Executions 2024, 1518 executions were recorded in 15 countries last year. This is the highest figure since 2015, when at least 1634 people were executed. At the same time, the number of countries applying the death penalty has remained at a record low for the second year in a row, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Key facts from the report
- Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are responsible for 91% of all reported executions.
- State authorities use the death penalty as punishment for protesters and ethnic groups.
- There has been an increase in the number of executions for drug-related crimes.
It is worth noting that the report does not take into account the thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, which remains the world leader in the number of executions, as well as in North Korea and Vietnam, where the death penalty is also widely used. Due to the ongoing crises in Palestine and Syria, Amnesty International was unable to confirm exact figures for these countries.
Increasing number of executions
The five countries with the highest number of reported executions in 2024 were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen.
Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are responsible for the overall increase in the number of executions. In total, these three countries carried out a staggering 1,380 reported executions. Iraq almost quadrupled its number of executions (from at least 16 to at least 63), and Saudi Arabia doubled its annual total (from 172 to at least 345). In Iran, 119 more people were executed than last year (from at least 853 to at least 972), which is 64% of all known executions.
“Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are responsible for the sharp rise in deaths last year, carrying out more than 91% of known executions, violating human rights and ruthlessly taking lives for drug and terrorism-related crimes…”
– said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
At the same time, she added that in 2024, executions were registered in only 15 countries, the lowest figure recorded for the second year in a row. This fact indicates a shift away from this punishment, the official believes.
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The death penalty as a means of dealing with opponents
Throughout 2024, Amnesty International observed how state leaders used the death penalty under the false pretext of improving public safety or instilling fear among the population. In the United States, which has seen a steady upward trend in executions since the end of the Covid-19 lockdown, 25 people were executed (up from 24 in 2023). President-elect Trump has repeatedly called for the use of the death penalty as a tool to protect people “from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.” His dehumanizing remarks promoted the narrative of the death penalty’s unique deterrent effect on crime.
In some countries in the Middle East, the death penalty has been used to suppress human rights defenders, dissidents, protesters, political opponents, and ethnic minorities.
“Those who dare to challenge the authorities are subjected to the most severe punishments, especially in Iran and Saudi Arabia, where the death penalty is used to silence those brave enough to speak out,”
– Callamard said.
In 2024, Iran continued to use the death penalty to punish individuals who challenged the Islamic republican system during the Women, Life, Freedom uprising. Last year, two such people, including a young man with a mental disability, were executed in connection with the uprising after unfair trials and “confessions” obtained under torture, the human rights activist said.
Saudi authorities continued to use the death penalty to suppress political dissidents and punish Shiite minority citizens who supported “anti-government” protests between 2011 and 2013. In August, the authorities executed Abdulmajid al-Nimr for terrorism-related crimes, including joining al-Qaeda, despite the fact that the initial court documents referred to his participation in the protests.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo announced its intention to resume executions, and the military authorities in Burkina Faso announced plans to reintroduce the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
Increase in executions for drug-related crimes
More than 40% of executions in 2024 were unlawfully carried out for drug-related crimes. According to international law and human rights standards, the use of the death penalty should be limited to the “most serious crimes” – the imposition of the death penalty for drug-related crimes does not meet this threshold.
“Executions for drug-related offenses have been common in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and, although confirmation was not possible, probably Vietnam. In many contexts, the imposition of the death penalty for drug-related offenses has been found to disproportionately affect people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with no proven effect in reducing drug trafficking,”
– Kallamar said.
She believes that states that are considering introducing the death penalty for drug-related offenses, such as the Maldives, Nigeria and Tonga, should be criticized and encouraged to put human rights at the center of their drug policies.
The power of citizen campaigns
Despite the rise in the number of executions, only 15 countries are known to have carried them out – the lowest number recorded for the second year in a row. To date, 113 countries have completely abolished the death penalty, and a total of 145 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.
In 2024, Zimbabwe signed a law abolishing the death penalty for ordinary crimes. For the first time, more than two-thirds of all UN member states voted in favor of the tenth General Assembly resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty. Death penalty reforms in Malaysia have also led to a reduction in the number of people facing the death penalty by more than 1,000.
In addition, the world has witnessed the power of citizen campaigns. Hakamada Iwao, who spent nearly five decades on death row in Japan, was exonerated in September 2024. This trend continued in 2025. In March, Rocky Myers, a black man sentenced to death in Alabama despite serious flaws in his trial, received a pardon after appeals from his family and legal team, a former juror, local activists, and the international community.
“When people prioritize campaigns to end the death penalty, it really works. Despite a minority of leaders determined to use the death penalty as a weapon, the situation is changing. It is only a matter of time before the world is free of the shadow of the gallows,”
– said Agnès Callamard.
The Ukrainian dimension
Ukraine does not have the death penalty, but it is at war with a brutal enemy that uses extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, as of October 2024, Russian soldiers have executed at least 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war. About 80% of these war crimes were committed in 2024.
These crimes are recorded both directly on the battlefield and in places of detention in the territory of the Russian Federation and in the occupied Ukrainian territories. In particular, the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed the execution of 10 prisoners of war in various places of detention. According to the testimonies of the released prisoners, all of them were subjected to brutal torture, which resulted in the deaths of some Ukrainian prisoners of war. The most resonant example of such crimes is the death of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka.
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