ASIA Tehran arms the executioner and breaks the world record for executions in 2023

According to Amnesty International’s annual report, with 1,153 death sentences, the highest number in eight years and an increase of more than 30% compared to 2022. On the contrary, the number of nations (16) in which it is executed to people. The sad record is for the Islamic Republic, with 853 hangings. But data is missing (secret, but in the thousands) from China, North Korea and Vietnam.

Tehran () – The Iran of the Ayatollahs leads the record increase in executions in the world in 2023, the highest number in eight years, due to the extensive use of executioners by the Islamic Republic and several other Middle Eastern nations. Amnesty International activists sound the alarm in their latest annual report published these days, according to which a total of 1,153 people were executed in 16 countries around the world (at least these are the official figures), a record 30 % higher than in 2022.

Tehran alone carried out 74% of the executions, intensifying the use of capital punishment for drug crimes, while Saudi Arabia – once among the biggest defenders of the death penalty – carried out 15%. It should be noted here that China is excluded from the count, which although it makes extensive use of the executioner, keeps the figures secret and, therefore, is not included in the lists; However, various sources agree that there are thousands each year and there is no going back.

«Due to the state secret [al que se opone Beijing]Amnesty’s figures, the activist movement notes, do not include the thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, which remains the world’s leading executioner. “Similarly, Amnesty – the note continues – was unable to provide exact figures for North Korea and Vietnam, nations where executions are believed to be widely used.

The number of executions is the highest recorded by the international NGO since 2015, when the number of people executed reached 1,634. According to the report, the Islamic Republic sentenced at least 853 people to death last year, compared to 576 in 2022 and 314 in 2021. More than half of the executions in 2023 were for drug-related crimes, but there was no shortage of sentences imposed for participating in street protests, especially those related to the murder of Mahsa Amini, or for “corruption on the terrain”. A generic crime used to send to the gallows [en Irán se practica la horca] to opponents, critical voices or those who fight for freedom or denounce the distortions of the ayatollah regime.

Despite the increase in executions around the world, the number of countries that have sentenced people to death has been “the lowest” to date, notes the activist NGO. No executions were recorded in Belarus, Japan, Myanmar and South Sudan, all countries that carried out death sentences in 2022. “The huge spike in recorded executions is mainly due to Iran,” confirmed the Secretary General of Amnesty International , Agnès Callamard.

«The Iranian authorities have shown a total disregard for human life and have increased executions – continues the expert – for drug crimes, which further highlights the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on the most marginalized and impoverished communities. from the country. The opposite direction is the direction taken by Pakistan, which last year repealed the death penalty for drug crimes, while in Malaysia the obligation to resort to the executioner for drug consumption or trafficking was abolished.

Elsewhere in Asia, Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that the president has no intention of signing execution orders, allaying fears that the country could resume executing people. Finally, the annual report highlighted data from the United States, the only Western nation where – at least in part – capital punishment is still in force. Last year, executions increased to 24, up from 18 in 2022. Bills for execution by firing squad have been introduced in Idaho and Tennessee, while the state of Montana has considered a measure to expand the range of substances used in lethal injections.