Death Sentences and Executions in 2016
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Under strict embargo until 00:01 BST (07.01 HKT/ 23:01 GMT) 11 April 2017 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL REPORT DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2016 Under strict embargo until 00:01 BST (07.01 HKT/ 23:01 GMT) 11 April 2017 Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. © Amnesty International 2017 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2017 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: ACT 50/5740/2017 Original language: English amnesty.org Under strict embargo until 00:01 BST (07.01 HKT/ 23:01 GMT) 11 April 2017 CONTENTS Note on Amnesty International’s figures on the use of the death penalty .... 2 THE USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2016 .............................. 3 GLOBAL FIGURES ............................................................................. 3 REGIONAL OVERVIEWS............................................................ 11 AMERICAS...................................................................................... 11 ASIA PACIFIC ................................................................................. 17 EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA .......................................................... 28 MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA ................................................. 30 SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ................................................................... 35 ANNEX I: EXECUTIONS AND DEATH SENTENCES IN 2016 ......... 40 RECORDED EXECUTIONS IN 2016 .................................................. 40 RECORDED DEATH SENTENCES IN 2016 ........................................ 41 ANNEX II: ABOLITIONIST AND RETENTIONIST COUNTRIES AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2016 ..................................................... 42 ANNEX III: RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2016 ..................................................... 44 ANNEX IV: VOTING RESULTS OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 71/187, ADOPTED ON 19 DECEMBER 2016 ......... 46 Insert: Secret executions in Viet Nam Executing countries in 2016 Death penalty trends 1997-2016 Under strict embargo until 00:01 BST (07.01 HKT/ 23:01 GMT) 11 April 2017 2 Death sentences and executions in 2016 Note on Amnesty International’s figures on the use of the death penalty This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2016. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation. In many countries governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty. In Belarus, China and Viet Nam, data on the use of the death penalty is classified as a state secret. During 2016 little or no information was available on some countries – in particular Laos, North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), Syria and Yemen – due to restrictive state practice and/or armed conflict. Therefore, with only a few exceptions, Amnesty International’s figures on the use of the death penalty are minimum figures. The true figures are likely to be higher. Where the organization obtains fuller information on a specific country in a given year this is noted in the report. In 2009 Amnesty International stopped publishing its estimated figures on the use of the death penalty in China. Amnesty International always made clear that the figures it was able to publish on China were significantly lower than the reality, because of the restrictions on access to information. Amnesty International’s decision to stop publishing data reflected concerns about how the Chinese authorities misrepresented Amnesty International’s numbers. Since 2009 the organization challenged China to publish information on the use of the death penalty. China has yet to publish any figures on the death penalty. However, available information indicates that thousands of people are executed and sentenced to death in China each year. Where Amnesty International receives and is able to verify new information after publication of this report, it updates its figures online at www.amnesty.org/deathpenalty In tables and lists, where “+” appears after a figure next to the name of a country – for instance, Afghanistan (4+) – it means that Amnesty International confirmed 4 executions, death sentences or persons under sentence of death in Afghanistan but believes that there were more than 4. Where “+” appears after a country name without a figure – for instance, Iran (+) – it means that Amnesty International has corroborated executions, death sentences or persons under sentence of death (more than one) in that country but had insufficient information to provide a credible minimum figure. When calculating global and regional totals, “+” has been counted as 2, including for China. 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. The organization campaigns for total abolition of capital punishment. Index: 50/5740/2017 Amnesty International April 2017 Under strict embargo until 00:01 BST (07.01 HKT/ 23:01 GMT) 11 April 2017 Death sentences and executions in 2016 3 THE USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2016 “Revenge must never be confused with justice, and the death penalty only serves to compound injustice” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 9 August 20161 GLOBAL FIGURES Amnesty International’s global monitoring of the use of the death penalty points to an overall decrease in states’ resort to this punishment in 2016. The total number of executions decreased from the historical high figure reported in 2015. The number of countries that imposed death sentences and the number of countries that carried out executions– were also noticeably lower. However, the figure of recorded new death sentences increased compared to the previous year, exceeding the previous highest total recorded in 2014. Two countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes and one country abolished it for ordinary crimes only. Several others took steps to restrict their use of this punishment, confirming that, despite regressive moves in some countries, the global trend remained towards the abolition of the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. 1 “Zeid urges Maldives to retain long-standing moratorium on death penalty”, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 9 August 2016, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=20353&LangID=E#sthash.vC3qeUDV.dpuf Amnesty International April 2017 Index: 50/5740/2017 Under strict embargo until 00:01 BST (07.01 HKT/ 23:01 GMT) 11 April 2017 4 Death sentences and executions in 2016 EXECUTIONS Amnesty International recorded a 37% decrease in the number of executions carried out globally in 2016 as against the previous year. At least 1,032 people were executed − 602 fewer than in 2015 when the organization recorded the highest number of executions in a single year since 1989.2 Despite the significant decrease, the overall number of executions in 2016 remained higher than the average recorded for the previous decade. These numbers do not include the thousands of executions carried out in China, where data on the use of the death penalty remained classified as a state secret.3 Iran alone accounted for 55% of all recorded executions. Together with Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan it carried out 87% of the global total. Iraq more than tripled its executions and Egypt and Bangladesh doubled theirs. New information about the number of executions carried out in Malaysia and particularly in Viet Nam provided an insight into the magnitude and true extent of their use of the death penalty. The overall number of executions carried out in Iran, however, dropped by 42% (from at least 977 to at least 567) compared to the previous year. A significant decrease in the implementation of death sentences was also recorded in Pakistan, by 73%. Executions also noticeably fell in Indonesia, Somalia and the USA. For the first time since 2006, the USA did not feature among the world’s top five executioners, due partly to litigation and challenges in sourcing chemicals used in lethal injection procedures. Amnesty International recorded executions in 23 countries, two fewer than in 2015. Belarus and authorities within the State of Palestine