Global Executions Hit Decade-High in 2024, Driven by Middle East Nations

Global executions on the rise as African states rethink capital punishment

While much of the world has left capital punishment behind, the most recent report by Amnesty International shows executions last year reached their highest level globally in almost a decade, while a number of African nations are considering reintroducing the death penalty.

Global executions at highest level since 2015, report says

The number of state executions around the world has reached its highest level in ten years, a new report by Amnesty International has said.More than 1,500 recorded executions took place in 2024 with Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounting for a combined 1,380 and the United States for 25, the charity found.Despite this rise, the report also found that the total number of countries carrying out the death penalty stood at 15 – the lowest number on …

Executions surge in 2024, driven by Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia

Executions in 2024 surged to their highest levels in a decade, driven primarily by Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International’s annual report. The global total of recorded executions reached 1,518, marking a 32% increase from the previous year and the highest since 2015. However, Amnesty found that the actual number is likely much higher, as the figure excludes executions in China, North Korea, and Vietnam - countries notor…

Executions in the world reached the highest level since 2015, with more than 1,500 people executed in 15 countries in 2024. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were the countries where executions were most carried out. Read more]]>

Global executions surged to highest level since 2015, Amnesty reports

Global executions rose dramatically in 2024, reaching 1,518 recorded deaths across 15 countries—the highest figure since 2015—Amnesty International said Tuesday as it released its annual report on the use of the death penalty. The 48-page report, Death Sentences and Executions 2024, found that Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia were responsible for 91% of known executions, with Iran alone accounting for nearly two-thirds. Amnesty warned that countries…

The “Iaqmet al-Had” – the executions of Allah’s law – are a regular public spectacle in Riyadh and other Saudi Arabian cities, usually after Friday’s prayer at the mosque. Beheadings of drug traffickers and murderers are usually staged in Masmak Palace Square, next to the Dira Souk. In the diplomatic media slang is known as the “Chop-Chop Square” (charcuterie cut), a macabre joke for a spectacle followed with morbidness, at least formal piety – …