Death penalty: highest number in the Middle East since 2015
According to Amnesty International's report, 91 per cent of known death sentences have been handed down in Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. There is no reliable data for China, North Korea and Vietnam since the information is treated as a state secret. Iran has experienced a boom in executions, partly to crack down on protest. Governments have weaponised the death penalty under the pretext of improving security.
Milan (AsiaNews) – Amnesty International today released its annual global report on the death penalty, noting that Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are responsible for 91 per cent of all known executions carried out worldwide in 2024, which saw the highest number since 2015, with the Middle East in the lead.
In the report, titled Death Sentences and Executions 2024, the human rights organisation points out that the death penalty has also been weaponised by governments to silence critical voices, repress dissent, crack down on protesters and target minorities and ethnic groups.
At a time when the rights of prisoners are often ignored if not violated, Amnesty International renews its call for a moratorium, in particular for people who are in prison for drug-related offences, in many cases detained for the possession of small quantities of drugs or on specious accusations.
Middle Eastern record
In 2024 executions numbered 1,518 in 15 different countries, the highest number since 2015 when at least 1,634 people were put to death. Conversely, for the second year in a row, the number of countries carrying out executions remained at the lowest point on record.
That said, the overall figure does not include the thousands of people believed to be killed each year in China, which is the most active user of the death penalty, as well as North Korea and Vietnam, which are also believed to make extensive use of the death penalty. In addition, the ongoing crises in Palestine and Syria have prevented Amnesty International from providing reliable data for both.
In total, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia carried out 1,380 executions, with Iraq doubling them (from 172 to at least 345), while Iran hanged 119 more people than the previous year (from at least 853 to 972), accounting for 64 per cent of all known executions.
“The death penalty is an abhorrent crime with no place in today’s world,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“While secrecy continued to shroud scrutiny in some countries that we believe are responsible for thousands of executions, it’s evident that states that retain the death penalty are an isolated minority,” she explained.
“With just 15 countries carrying out executions in 2024, the lowest number on record for the second consecutive year, this signals a move away from this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.”
“Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were responsible for the sharp spike in deaths last year, carrying out over 91 per cent of known executions, violating human rights and callously taking people’s lives for drug-related and terrorism charges.”
Furthermore, looking at the five countries with the highest number of executions in 2024, Yemen comes in fifth position, but the highest number, albeit underreported, still belongs to China.
Iran, a boom in executions
The Islamic Republic is an emblematic case of the use of the death penalty by Middle Eastern regimes as a method of repression not only of violent or common crimes, especially drug trafficking, but also protests and dissent.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norwegian-based NGO with sources inside the country, Iranian authorities carried out at least 59 death sentences in March alone, for a total of 230 in the first quarter of the year, including eight women, according to official sources.
The figure for the first quarter of 2025 is more than double the numbers recorded in the same period in 2024 when 110 death sentences were performed, a sign of an increasingly widespread use of the noose by the clerical regime.
Of last month’s 59 executions, only one (2 per cent) was reported by official sources. At least 31 people were on death row for drug offences and another 28 ended up in the hands of the executioner for convictions based on the principle of retributive justice (qisas).
Five women were hanged, as were seven men were from the Baloch minority and one Kurdish. As for foreigners, at least three Afghans swung from the gallows.
Only 11 of the 230 executions (less than 5%) were announced by official sources. One man was hanged from a public bridge.
Moreover, when tensions with a foreign country rise with threats of war, as in recent weeks with the United States, the number of executions goes up. In 2024 more than 70 per cent of the 975 executions were carried out after tensions between Iran and Israel rose.
IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam warns that Iran could exploit the crisis with the United States over its nuclear programme to carry out more. “The risk of a significant increase in executions in the coming weeks is serious, [. . .] including those of political prisoners," he said.
Weaponised by rulers
In its 2024 report, Amnesty International states that in several countries, leaders use the death penalty on the false pretext of improving public security or to instil fear in the population.
In the United States, which has seen a steady upward trend in executions since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, 25 people were executed in 2024 compared to 24 in 2023.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for the widespread use of the death penalty as a tool to protect people “from violent rapists, murderers and monsters".
His dehumanising remarks have promoted a false narrative that capital punishment has a unique deterrent effect on crime.
In some countries in the Middle East, death sentences have been used to silence human rights defenders, dissidents, protesters, political opponents, activists and ethnic minorities.
“Those who dare challenge authorities have faced the most cruel of punishments, particularly in Iran and Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty used to silence those brave enough to speak out,” said Agnès Callamard.
Last year, the Islamic Republic, the expert continues, “persisted in their use of the death penalty to punish individuals who had challenged the Islamic Republic establishment” during the "Woman Life Freedom" uprising.
“[T]wo of those people – including a youth with a mental disability” were “executed in connection with the uprising following unfair trials and torture-tainted ‘confessions’, proving how far the authorities are willing to go to tighten their grip on power.”
Meanwhile, Saudi leaders have used the death penalty to silence political dissent and punish Shias who supported “anti-government” protests between 2011 and 2013.
In August, the authorities executed Abdulmajeed al-Nimr on charges related to terrorism and joining al-Qaeda, even though initial court documents referred to his participation in protests.
“Despite the minority of leaders determined to weaponize the death penalty, the tide is turning,” said Agnès Callamard. “It’s only a matter of time until the world is free from the shadows of the gallows.”
GATEWAY TO THE EAST IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE MIDDLE EAST. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY TUESDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE.
.png)
