Global executions in 2022 at highest rate for five years - Amnesty
By BBC
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A total of 883 people are known to have been put to death across 20 countries, marking a rise of 53% compared to 2021, according to the group's annual review.
The number of executions recorded globally in 2022 was the highest in five years, as several Middle Eastern states ramped up their use of the death penalty, Amnesty International says.
A total of 883 people are known to have been put to death across 20 countries, marking a rise of 53% compared to 2021, according to the group's annual review.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt alone carried out 90% of those executions.
The figures exclude China, which is thought to execute thousands each year.
Data on the death penalty is classified in China, which Amnesty said impaired its ability to make an accurate assessment about the numbers put to death in the country.
The group was also able to confirm that executions were carried out in North Korea, Vietnam, Syria, and Afghanistan, but there was insufficient information to provide credible minimum figures.
According to Amnesty's report, Iran and Saudi Arabia were mainly responsible for the sharp increase in known executions worldwide last year.
It says Iran put 576 people to death - up from 314 in 2021. Of this year's total, 279 people were convicted of murder, 255 of drug-related offenses, 21 of rape, and 18 of the national security charge of "enmity against God".
The final category included two men who were detained in connection with the anti-government protests that erupted in the Islamic Republic in September. They faced what a UN expert called "arbitrary, summary and sham trials marred by torture allegations".
