Five Countries Defy Sea Change in Global Execution Practices, According to New Amnesty International Report

Globally: Number of Executions Dropped; In United States: Momentum Against Death Penalty Grows; Middle East: Five Nations With Unrest Among Top Ten Executing Countries

Report Includes Online Geographic Timeline Demonstrating Sea Change in Global Execution Practices, 1961-2011

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A small number of countries are defying a global, decade-long trend toward death penalty abolition, Amnesty International said today in its new report Death Sentences and Executions in 2010.

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A total of 31 countries abolished the death penalty in law or in practice during the last 10 years, but China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Yemen carried out the most executions—in direct contradiction of international human rights law.

Amnesty International is gravely concerned that states in the Middle East continue to use the death penalty against political opponents during this climate of political upheaval. Iran, Libya and Yemen experienced a worrying upsurge in executions (Iran in early 2011), and there are fears of mass executions in Libya as the conflict there deepens. Meanwhile in Egypt, the path to democracy may herald a decrease in the use of the death penalty.

Many of countries that are currently undergoing political upheavals carried out executions in 2010, Iran (252), Libya (18), Saudi Arabia (27), Syria (17), Yemen (53) [numbers in parenthesis are minimal numbers of execution AI verified].  In these countries, the death penalty was frequently imposed after unfair trials and for offenses, such as drug-trafficking or adultery, that are not recognized as the "most serious crimes" and therefore in violation of international law.

Around the world, the total number of executions officially recorded by Amnesty International in 2010 decreased from at least 714 people in 2009 to at least 527 in 2010. China is believed to have executed thousands in 2010 but continues to maintain secrecy over its use of the death penalty. In 2010, at least 17,833 people worldwide were sentenced to death.

While the United States remains among the top global executioners, the momentum toward abolition in the country mirrors a similar global trend. Four states, New York, New Jersey, New Mexico and Illinois, have ended capital punishment in the last seven years. Bills to repeal the death penalty are viable in three state legislatures this year. Additionally, death sentences have declined to historic lows in recent years across the country.

Laura Moye, death penalty abolition campaign director for AIUSA, said, "The facts are making an impact in a very emotional debate: the death penalty does not deter murder, it costs millions and the system is riddled with bias and error. More and more Americans are wondering if we can afford the financial and moral costs of the death penalty."

The rapid abolition of death penalty is depicted in a dramatic new, online geographic timeline. When Amnesty International began its global campaign against the death penalty in 1977, only 16 countries had abolished capital punishment. 139 countries have now abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. See http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish/worldmap/.

Amnesty International's report highlights a number of setbacks during 2010, such as when six other countries and territories resumed executions after a hiatus and one country expanded the scope of the death penalty.

"In spite of some setbacks, developments in 2010 brought us closer to global abolition," said Shetty. "The president of Mongolia announced a moratorium on the death penalty, an important first step since capital punishment is still classified as state secret. For the third time, and with more support than ever before, the United Nations General Assembly called for a global moratorium on executions. Any country that continues to execute is flying in the face of the fact that both human rights law and United Nations human rights bodies consistently hold that abolition should be the objective."

"A world free of the death penalty is not only possible, it is inevitable," said Shetty.  "The question is how long will it take?" 

For a copy of the full report and other information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202.509.8188 or [email protected] or visit www.amnestyusa.org.

SOURCE Amnesty International