Pix Source: www.mb.com.ph
… Death Sentences Dropped In Sub-Saharan Region From 909 In 2014 To 443 In 2015 Due To Reduction In Nigeria.
…Says Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia Responsible For Almost 90% Recorded Executions
Amnesty International said that a dramatic global rise in the number of executions recorded in 2015 saw more people put to death than at any point in the last quarter-century.
According to Amnesty International in its review of the global use of the death penalty, the surge was largely fuelled by Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
It stated that at least 1,634 people were executed in 2015, a rise of more than 50 per cent on the year before and the highest number Amnesty International has recorded since 1989 and that this total does not include China, where thousands more were likely executed, but where death penalty data is treated as a state secret.
The Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Salil Shetty stated that in 2015 governments continued relentlessly to deprive people of their lives on the false premise that the death penalty would make us safer.
According to him, “The rise in executions last year is profoundly disturbing. Not for the last 25 years have so many people been put to death by states around the world. In 2015 governments continued relentlessly to deprive people of their lives on the false premise that the death penalty would make us safer”.
Continuing, he said, “Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have all put people to death at unprecedented levels, often after grossly unfair trials. This slaughter must end. Thankfully, countries that execute belong to a small and increasingly isolated minority. The majority of states have turned their back on the death penalty and in 2015 four more countries completely removed this barbaric punishment from the laws.”
The Amnesty International boss added that the global rise in executions was mainly fuelled by three countries, who together were responsible for 89 per cent of all executions in 2015 (excluding China).
Pakistan, the body said continued the state-sanctioned killing spree it embarked on when it lifted a moratorium on civilian executions in December 2014,adding that more than 320 people were sent to the gallows in 2015, the highest number Amnesty International has ever recorded for Pakistan.
Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before the vast majority for drug-related crimes, adding that the country is also one of the world’s last executioners of juvenile offenders, in flagrant breach of international law.
The country put to death at least four people who were under 18 at the time of the crime for which they were convicted in 2015.
In Saudi Arabia, executions rose by 76 per cent on 2014’s figures, as at least 158 people were put to death last year and that most were beheaded, but authorities also used firing squads and sometimes displayed executed bodies in public.
However, Amnesty International noted that there were notable jumps in the number of executions recorded in some other countries as well, including Egypt and Somalia.
The number of countries executing rose, from 22 in 2014 to 25 in 2015 and that at least six countries, who had not put anyone to death in 2014 did so in 2015, including Chad, where executions were carried out for the first time in more than a decade.
The top five executioners in the world in 2015 were China, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the USA – in that order.
Several states, including China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, continued to sentence people to death for crimes – including drug trafficking, corruption, “adultery” and “blasphemy” – that do not meet the international legal standards of “most serious” to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international law.
Year Of Extremes
Despite the setbacks in 2015, the world continues its march towards abolition of the death penalty. Some developments last year offered hope and showed that countries that cling to the death penalty belong to an isolated minority.
Four countries completely abolished the death penalty from their laws in 2015 – Fiji, Madagascar, Republic of Congo and Suriname. Mongolia also passed a new criminal code abolishing the death penalty, which will take effect later in 2016.
For the first time ever, a majority of the world’s countries – 102 – have now fully abolished the death penalty. In total, 140 states across the globe are abolitionist in law or practice.
“2015 was a year of extremes. We saw some very disquieting developments but also developments that give cause for hope. Four countries completely abolished the death penalty, meaning the majority of the world has now banned this most horrendous of punishments” said Salil Shetty.
According to Salil Shetty, “Whatever the short-term setbacks, the long-term trend is still clear: the world is moving away from the death penalty. Those countries that still execute need to realize that they are on the wrong side of history and abolish the ultimate cruel and inhuman form of punishment.”
On regional summaries, Amnesty International, said that in Sub-Saharan Africa there were both positive and negative developments, adding that Madagascar and Republic of Congo both abolished the death penalty completely and that the number of death sentences imposed fell sharply from 909 in 2014 to 443 in 2015, mainly due to a reduction in Nigeria.
The body noted that the number of executions recorded dropped slightly – from 46 to 43 – on the year before, adding that Chad, however, resumed executions after more than 12 years, when 10 suspected Boko Haram members were put to death by firing squad in August.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.
There is no evidence whatsoever that the death penalty is a more effective deterrent to crime than other forms of punishment.
