THE GUARDIAN: Arab uprisings lead to rise in capital punishment in Middle East but Amnesty finds some comfort in world figures – even in China
Middle Eastern countries have stepped up their use of capital punishment, executing hundreds of people as rulers across the region seek to deter the wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab countries.
Despite a significant reduction in the number of countries that used the death penalty worldwide last year, there was a sharp rise in executions in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen, according to Amnesty International's annual capital punishment survey, released on Tuesday.
China remained at the top of the list of the countries with the worst record of executions last year. Authorities in China maintained their policy of refusing to release precise figures on the death penalty in the country, which they consider a state secret. » | Saeed Kamali Dehghan and Ed Pilkington in New York | Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Capital punishment in 2011 – interactive »
