According to Amnesty International’s latest report, a staggering 91% of all recorded death sentences in 2023 were carried out in just three countries: Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
These nations, notorious for their use of capital punishment, continue to dominate global death penalty statistics. However, the report also highlights significant gaps in data for other countries, such as China, North Korea, and Vietnam, where death penalty information remains a state secret.
Iran, which has consistently led the world in executions, has seen a dramatic increase in capital punishment cases in recent months. Amnesty International notes that many of these executions are directly linked to the crackdown on protests that erupted in the country in 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. The Iranian authorities have used the death penalty to suppress dissent, with the regime targeting activists, protestors, and individuals accused of inciting unrest.
In addition to political repression, the regime in Tehran justifies the use of the death penalty as part of its broader efforts to maintain “security” and “public order,” despite the widespread condemnation from human rights organizations. The increasing number of executions is being framed by the Iranian government as necessary to deter crime, although critics argue that the punishment is being used as a tool of control, rather than genuine criminal justice.
The report underscores a disturbing trend across these regimes, where the death penalty is often deployed not as a last resort for heinous crimes, but as a means of political repression. Amnesty International asserts that governments in Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia use capital punishment to stifle opposition, intimidate dissenters, and maintain their hold on power under the false pretext of enhancing security and public safety.
In Saudi Arabia, for instance, the death penalty has been used extensively against dissidents, including religious minorities, activists, and those involved in protests. In many cases, trials are expedited and fail to meet international standards of fairness, with defendants often facing torture or ill-treatment to extract confessions.
While Amnesty International’s report highlights the widespread use of the death penalty in Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, it also draws attention to the lack of reliable data from several other authoritarian states, including China, North Korea, and Vietnam. In these countries, death penalty statistics are considered state secrets, and the true extent of executions remains largely hidden from the international community.
China, believed to execute more people than any other country, has long kept information about capital punishment shrouded in secrecy, making it difficult for human rights organizations to assess the true scale of the practice. Similarly, North Korea and Vietnam are notorious for their opaque legal systems, where executions are often carried out behind closed doors with little to no transparency or accountability.
Amnesty International’s report highlights a growing international movement to abolish the death penalty, with a significant number of countries moving away from capital punishment in recent years. However, the continued use of the death penalty in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and other authoritarian regimes remains a major human rights concern.
The report urges global leaders and human rights organizations to increase pressure on these governments to halt executions and engage in a broader discussion about the moral, legal, and practical implications of state-sanctioned killing. Until then, the death penalty will likely remain a tool of political repression, used by regimes to quell dissent under the guise of maintaining security.