US Ranks Fifth in Executions in World
in the world last year by putting at least 470 people to death, but
the number of executions in the country actually fell by more than
half compared to the year before, Amnesty International said.
In its annual report on worldwide executions, the human rights
group said Tuesday that Iran remains the country with the second
highest number of executions and that the number had nearly doubled
compared to the year before. The 377 victims included a man stoned
to death for committing adultery.
The United States was fifth in the rankings with 42 executions,
reflecting a drop in the number of people put to death during the
year. That was the lowest number of executions in the United States
in about 15 years, Amnesty officials said.
Amnesty analysts said China reformed the way capital cases are
handled early in 2007, leading to a substantial reduction in
executions. But they cautioned that the actual number of people put
to death in China in 2007 is undoubtedly higher than the figure of
470 executions that could be confirmed - and they warned that the
drop may be temporary.
“We do actually believe there has been a reduction in number of
executions,” said Piers Bannister, a death penalty researcher at
Amnesty. “But how permanent and how significant that reduction is
we don’t know because it’s a state secret.”
One reason the number of people reported executed in China fell
may be the reintroduction in January 2007 of a review by its top
court of all capital cases, Amnesty said. The legislation is aimed
at weeding out unfair convictions and reserving the death penalty
for only the most severe cases.
But analysts are concerned that the number could rise again
because of a backlog in executions that may have developed due to
the extra set of judicial reviews. This makes them cautious about
judging the significance of the halving of the number of people
killed by the Chinese state.
Bannister said Amnesty fears that the slowdown is only a
“logjam” that will lead to a meaningful rise in executions once
the judicial reviews are concluded.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing did not respond to
requests for comment on the findings in the Amnesty report. The
ministry has said in the past that Amnesty is “biased and hostile
toward China.”
Rosemary Foot, professor of international relations at St.
Antony’s College at Oxford University, said Chinese leaders would
be embarrassed by the report showing China again leads the world in
executions.
“Obviously, it’s an image issue,” she said. “It’s always
going to be the phrase that’s on everyone’s lips, the highest
number.” She said the report would hurt China’s reputation outside
its borders but would have little impact inside the country.
Foot said it was impossible to obtain reliable figures about
executions in China because of the secrecy surrounding the process.
“The caveat is, there’s not openness about levels of execution. We
don’t actually know what the real figure is.”
There are more than 60 offenses in China that are punishable by
the death penalty, Bannister said. They include not just violent
crimes and treason, but drug trafficking, embezzlement and other
financial offenses.
In its report, Amnesty also “expressed deep concern” that many
more people were killed secretly in countries such as Mongolia,
Vietnam and Malaysia.
It urged countries to heed a United Nations resolution in
December 2007 calling for the open and transparent use of the death
penalty as a step toward abolishing it altogether. Amnesty also
criticized other countries for executing people for offenses not
ordinarily considered criminal, or after unfair procedures.
It cited the case of an Egyptian beheaded in Saudi Arabia for
sorcery. Amnesty also reported that three countries - Iran, Yemen,
and Saudi Arabia - put people under the age of 18 to death.
The youngest was a 13-year-old executed in Iran in April.
Amnesty said the number of executions in China fell from 1010 in
2006 to 477 last year. But its report cites other groups that claim
last year’s number was much higher.
For example, research by the U.S.-based Dui Hua Foundation,
which campaigns on behalf of political prisoners and researches
conditions in Chinese prisons, indicates about 6,000 people were
executed in 2007. The group’s data are based on figures obtained
from local officials.
Death penalty figures are treated as a state secret in China.
The country’s top judge said last month that only “extremely vile
criminals” were executed last year.
The death penalty is believed to have popular support in China,
but the reform begun last year shows the government is trying to
change a system that often put people to death just a few weeks
after conviction for crimes ranging from murder to corruption.
Bannister said Amnesty’s report “really is a challenge to China
to end the secrecy,” especially as it prepares to host the summer
Olympics in Beijing in August.
China also topped Amnesty’s list for death sentences handed down
last year, with 1,860 sentenced.
In all, at least 3,347 people were sentenced to death in 51
countries, and as many as 27,500 people are estimated to be on
death row, the group said.
Associated Press Writer Regan McTarsney contributed to this
report.
admin @ April 15, 2008