On its way out?

At least 714 people were executed in 18 countries and at least 2001 people were sentenced to death in 56 countries over the course of 2009 according to Amnesty.

In a fresh report on executions worldwide, Amnesty International has reasoned that countries that still carry out executions are the exception rather than the rule, concluding that the death penalty is generally on its way out with the exception of a “hard-core” of nations. 

Of the former Soviet republics, it said Russia and Ukraine have not executed anyone in more than a decade.  As for Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, they have executed about 130 people between them over the past 10 years. 

Europe’s clear bad boy is Belarus. Since 2006, the country has been the only European state to carry out death sentences, including the execution of two convicts just two weeks ago.

Amnesty also challenged the Chinese government to publish the full number of people killed by the state.  It alleges that China executes far more prisoners than data indicate. 

Amnesty further tracked a spike in executions in Iraq, with the number reaching 120 in 2009. 

The human rights organisation said Iran put 388 people to death in 2009 – including at least 112 people killed in the two months following the country’s disputed elections.

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