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Amnesty International says recorded executions in 2022 reached their highest level in five years. The organization recorded 883 executions across 20 countries, marking a rise of 53% – and that doesn’t include China, where the figures are kept secret. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.
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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: Death Penalty Amnesty Report
HEADLINE: Iran, Saudi Arabia Drive Spike in Global Executions, Says Amnesty
TEASER: Rise of 53% in executions globally, as five countries resume death penalty
PUBLISHED AT: 05/16/2023 at
BYLINE: Henry Ridgwell
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DATELINE: London
VIDEOGRAPHER: Henry Ridgwell
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SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, IDE
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Reuters, APTN, AFP
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((INTRO)) [[Amnesty International says recorded executions in 2022 reached their highest level in five years. The organization recorded 883 executions across 20 countries, marking a rise of 53% – and that doesn’t include China, where the figures are kept secret. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.]]
((VIDEO: AGENCY UGC FOOTAGE OF IRAN PROTESTS))
Amnesty says the rise in executions in 2022 was led by countries in the Middle East. In Iran, the number soared from 314 in 2021 to 576 in 2022.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF RIYADH))
In Saudi Arabia, the number of executions tripled, from 65 in 2021 to 196 in 2022 — the highest recorded in 30 years. Many are for drug-related offences.
((Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International))
“In addition to this, we should flag the death penalty continued to be used in both countries as a tool of state repression. We saw, for example, towards the end of the year, Iran making arrests there and using the death penalty to punish the protests, with executions and death sentences continuing well into 2023. In addition to that one characteristic, sadly, of the use of the death penalty in Iran is the disproportionate impact of executions on ethnic minorities and religious minorities.”
That’s a characteristic also seen in Saudi Arabia.
((Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International))
“And in fact, we had 81 executions in one day in 2022. And half of them were actually people belonging to the Shia minority in Saudi Arabia.”
Amnesty says it is clear that China remains the world’s most prolific executioner.
((Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International))
“It remains a country that in secrecy carries out thousands of executions a year and imposes the same amount of death sentences. But it's really impossible to put a concrete number to that, because of the secrecy. We have official confirmations coming from the authorities that execution for drug related offenses, for example, are carried out; that corruption is punished with the death penalty. But the numbers remain secret.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF PYONGYANG))
The use of the death penalty in North Korea and Vietnam is also shrouded in secrecy.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF EGYPTIAN DEATH PENALTY SENTENCING))
Countries that have witnessed military coups have seen an uptick in executions. Egypt executed 24 people in 2022.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF MYANMAR, EXECUTED DISSIDENTS))
Myanmar resumed the use of the death penalty for the first time since the 1980s – including democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu and former lawmaker Maung Kyaw.
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF US DEATH ROW))
The United States saw a rise in the number of executions, from 11 to 18.
((Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International))
“We still have the second lowest number of death sentences in the recent history of the death penalty in the U.S. – because that tells us that the mood and the opinion of the death penalty among the jurors that sit on the penalty trial has changed.”
((VIDEO: AGENCY UGC FOOTAGE OF IRAN PROTESTS))
While the Amnesty report covers 2022, executions in Iran continue to rise in 2023. At least 209 people have been put to death this year, according to the United Nations, which called for a halt to the practice.
((Henry Ridgwell, for VOA News, London.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMay 16, 2023 17:37 EDT
BylineHenry Ridgwell
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
