Huge hike in the death penalty was recorded in Iran and Saudi Arabia
NEW-DELHI: Year 2022 was the darkest year in terms of death penalties in the last five years. Last year, 883 people were sentenced to death, which is 53 percent more than in 2021. As per a report, during 2022, 883 people were sentenced to death around the world, which is 53 percent more than in 2021 and the most in five years. Amnesty International's annual report said that the huge hike in the death penalty was reported in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Asia has also seen such a large increase in the death penalty.
According to Amnesty's report, 70 percent of the total death sentences reported in the Middle East and North Africa. In Iran, where 576 people were executed in 2022. This is 83 percent more than in 2021 when 314 people were hanged. Out of these 255 cases were related to drugs while 279 persons were found guilty of murder.
In Saudi Arabia, the death penalty tripled in 2022 compared to 2021 and 196 people were hanged there. This is the highest number in the last 30 years. 85 people were sentenced to death for terrorism-related offences, more than nine times the previous year. Apart from this, 57 persons were sentenced to death for drug-related offences, while no person was sentenced to death under this crime in 2021.
Compared to 2021, Kuwait, Myanmar, Palestine, Singapore and the US also recorded huge hike in the number of death sentences in 2022. During the year 2021, 579 people were sentenced to death in 18 countries, while in 2022, 883 people were sentenced to death in 20 countries. This is not a comprehensive figure because countries such as China, North Korea and Vietnam do not make public the number of death sentences. According to Amnesty, 112 people were sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2022, 94 percent for drug-related crimes, which do not qualify as "the most serious crimes" under international law.
Indonesia has the death penalty for crimes such as murder, terrorism and drug trafficking, and the death penalty is carried out by firing squad. Before 2022, in 2016, four people were shot in the crime of drug trafficking. Three of them were Nigerian citizens and one was Indonesian. Currently, 450 people have been sentenced to death in the country and are awaiting execution. There are also 88 foreign nationals from 18 countries.
Last year, 169 people were sentenced to death in Bangladesh, the most in the Asia-Pacific region. This was followed by India, where 165 people were sentenced to death. Pakistan ranks third in the region with 127 people executed. Last year, 18 people were sentenced to death in the United States of America, while in 2021, 11 people were sentenced to death. However, in the 20 countries of the world where the death penalty is announced, USA was at the bottom.
China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Singapore have sentenced 325 people to death in drug-related cases, more than double the number in 2021, the report said. Amnesty said the number of countries that have abolished the death penalty now stands at 112, including Papua New Guinea. Apart from this, Malaysia has also taken important steps to abolish the death penalty in several crime cases.
Notably, In the last ten years, 2022 proved to be the year with the fourth highest death penalty. In 2015, a maximum of 1,634 people were sentenced to death. In 2016, 1,032 people were sentenced to death and in 2017, the number was recorded at 993.
