2013 sees jump in death penalty, with China, Iran and Iraq in the lead
Rome (AsiaNews) - The
number of executions worldwide increased last year despite a global trend
toward capital punishment abolition. This is the findings of the 2014
report entitled "The death penalty in the world", compiled by the Italian
organization Hands Off Cain and presented yesterday in Rome, Italy. Asian and
Middle Eastern nations are in the lead for the number of people sent to their
death; Once again in 2013, China has won this sad award, followed at some
distance by Iran and Iraq.
According to the report in 2013, there were at least 4,106 executions - an
indicative figure, because in several states including China there is no reliable
data available on the number of death sentences - a significant increase
compared to 3,967 in 2012. Last year executions became more frequent in Iran
and Iraq, contributing to the increase of the statistics.
China remains at the top, with more than 3 thousand executions last year, a
figure similar to that recorded in 2012. It should be pointed out however, that
Beijing has almost halved its implementation of the death penalty since 2007,
but in 2013 still counted for 74.5% of the global total.
Following China is Iran, with at least 687 executions, the highest figure in 15
years, while there were 172 in Iraq; this is the highest figure reported from Baghdad
since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003 following the U.S. invasion. The
three leading nations for the death penalty are followed by Saudi Arabia (78 executions),
Somalia (at least 27), Sudan (21), North Korea (at least 17), Yemen (13) and
Vietnam (8). It should be emphasized that many nations do not provide official
statistics and the number could be far greater.
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