Global Executions Reach Highest Level Since 2015, Reports Reveal

In 2024, Amnesty International's annual report on the death penalty indicated that at least 1,518 individuals were executed across 15 countries, marking the highest number of executions since 2015. Despite this increase, the total number of countries that carried out capital punishment was the lowest recorded since 1977. The countries with the highest execution rates included China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.

According to the report released on Tuesday, Iraq and Yemen ranked fourth and fifth in terms of executions. However, precise figures for executions in China remain elusive, as thousands are believed to occur annually in this single-party state. The significant rise in executions can be attributed primarily to Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, which collectively accounted for over 90% of all documented executions in the previous year. Specifically, Iran executed 972 individuals (up from 853 in 2023), Saudi Arabia saw 345 executions (an increase from 172), and Iraq recorded 63 executions (up from 16).

Amnesty International acknowledges a likely underreporting of these figures. Due to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, data regarding executions in Palestine and Syria were unavailable. The report also highlighted that at least 44 women were executed in 2024, contrasting with 31 executions of women across four countries in the previous year.

While almost three-quarters of all countries have abolished the death penalty either legally or in practice, there were notable developments regarding its application. Notably, Bangladesh reported no executions for the first time since 2018, while Oman carried out its first execution since 2021. Belarus remains the only European nation that still enforces and applies the death penalty. In a significant case, a German national sentenced to death in Belarus, allegedly recruited by the Ukrainian secret service as a mercenary, received a pardon in 2024 as part of a prisoner exchange.

Amnesty International reported the use of five different execution methods in 2024. In Saudi Arabia, executions were carried out by beheading, while hanging was the method employed in countries such as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Singapore, and Syria. In contrast, lethal injections were utilized in China, the USA, and Vietnam, with firing squads being implemented in Afghanistan, China, North Korea, Oman, Somalia, and Yemen. The USA also introduced a new execution method involving nitrogen asphyxiation, described by Amnesty as a "new and cruel method" of execution.

Of the documented executions, 637 cases were linked to drug offenses, representing over 40% of total executions. Amnesty emphasized that the imposition of the death penalty for such crimes contravenes international law and norms. It also noted that executions of individuals who committed crimes as minors are unlawful, with at least eight such cases reported in 2024. Furthermore, public executions occurred in at least eight instances during the year.