Amnesty International: Iran Responsible for 64% of Recorded Executions Worldwide in 2024

In its annual report titled "Death Sentences and Executions in 2024," Amnesty International announced that the number of recorded executions worldwide reached 1,518 in this year, the highest figure since 2015. Over 91% of these executions occurred in just three countries: Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. According to the report, although only 15 countries carried out executions in 2024, the lowest number in recorded history, the use of the death penalty, particularly in the Middle East, has shown a worrying trend. China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen are at the top of the list for the highest number of executions, despite the exact figures remaining unclear in countries like China, North Korea, and Vietnam. In Iran, 972 people were executed in 2024, accounting for 64% of all recorded executions worldwide. This figure indicates that the Islamic Republic executed at least 119 more individuals than the previous year, where the recorded executions in Iran were at least 853. Saudi Arabia also doubled its execution figures compared to the previous year, while Iraq nearly quadrupled its executions. Amnesty International has warned that in some countries, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, the death penalty has become a tool for suppressing political opponents, protesters, human rights defenders, and ethnic minorities. Particularly in Iran, following the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising, some individuals, including a young person with a mental disability, were executed after unfair trials and confessions obtained under torture. Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, stated: "Those who dared to confront the authorities have faced the most brutal punishments, especially in Iran and Saudi Arabia, where the death penalty has been used to silence those who have spoken out bravely." A significant portion of the recorded executions in 2024 (over 40%) were related to drug offenses, which contradicts international human rights standards, as these crimes are not considered among the "most serious crimes." Despite this alarming trend, Amnesty International emphasizes that human rights movements have achieved significant milestones. For instance, Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes in 2024, and judicial reforms in Malaysia led to a reduction in the number of individuals on death row. Additionally, in Japan, Iwao Hakamada, who had been on death row for nearly five decades, was acquitted, and in the United States, Rocky Myers, a Black man in Alabama who had been sentenced to death despite serious flaws in the trial process, was saved from execution through extensive efforts by family and activists. Amnesty International states that despite some governments' attempts to use the death penalty as a political weapon, the global trend is moving towards the abolition of this punishment, and it is only a matter of time before the world is forever free from the "shadow of gallows."