DEATH SENTENCES
AND EXECUTIONS
2022
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL REPORT
Index: ACT 50/6548/2023
Original language: English
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DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
CONTENTS
EXECUTING COUNTRIES IN 2022 4
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S FIGURES ON THE USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY 6
THE USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2022 7
GLOBAL TRENDS 7
REGIONAL OVERVIEWS 16
AMERICAS 16
ASIA-PACIFIC 21
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA 27
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 28
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 33
ANNEX I: RECORDED EXECUTIONS AND DEATH SENTENCES IN 2022 38
RECORDED EXECUTIONS IN 2022 38
RECORDED DEATH SENTENCES IN 2022 39
ANNEX II: ABOLITIONIST AND RETENTIONIST COUNTRIES AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022 40
ANNEX III: RATIFICATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022 42
ANNEX IV: VOTING RESULTS OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 77/222,
ADOPTED ON 15 DECEMBER 2022 44
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
200
175
150
125
100
75
50
25
0
EXECUTING COUNTRIES IN 2022
This map indicates the general locations
of boundaries and jurisdictions and
should not be interpreted as Amnesty
International’s view on disputed territories.
+ indicates that the gure that Amnesty
International has calculated is a minimum.
Where + is not preceded by a number,
this means that Amnesty International
is condent that there was more than
one execution, but it was impossible to
establish a gure.
7. SOMALIA
Recorded executions
and death sentences
fell by 71% and 63%
respectively, compared
to 2021.
9. YEMEN
Recorded executions
and death sentences
fell by 71% and 74%
respectively, compared
to 2021.
8. SOUTH SUDAN
Recorded executions
and death sentences
fell by 44% and 60%
respectively, compared
to 2021.
1. CHINA
Continued to execute
and sentence to death
thousands of people
but kept gures secret.
2. IRAN
Recorded executions
increased by 83% compared
to 2021, largely due to spikes
in executions for murder and
drug-related offences.
3. SAUDI ARABIA
Ofcial gures show
executions tripled in
comparison with 2021.
4. EGYPT
Recorded executions fell by 71%
compared to 2021 but known death
sentences rose by 51%.
6. IRAQ
Recorded executions
and death sentences
fell by 35% and 55%
respectively, compared to
2021.
5. USA
Executions increased by 64%
compared to 2021 but this
number remained among
historically low gures.
10. NORTH KOREA
Death penalty likely to
be used at sustained
rate, but impossible to
independently verify.
11. VIET NAM
Death sentences were
imposed extensively for
drug-related offences.
The 11 countries numbered on the map
have persistently executed people in the
past ve years (2018–2022).
CHINA
IRAN
SAUDI ARABIA
EGYPT
USA
IRAQ
SINGAPORE
KUWAIT
SOMALIA
SOUTH SUDAN
STATE OF
PALESTINE
YEMEN
BANGLADESH
MYANMAR
BELARUS
JAPAN
AFGHANISTAN
NORTH KOREA
SYRIA
VIET NAM
1,000s
196
576+
24
18
11+
11
7
6+
5+
5
4+
4
4
1 1
+ + ++
6
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL’S FIGURES
ON THE USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY
This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2022.
As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: ofcial gures;
judgments; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives;
media reports; and, as specied, other civil society organizations. Amnesty International reports
only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such
as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable conrmation. In many countries
governments do not publish information on their use of the death penalty. In China and Viet Nam,
data on the use of the death penalty is classied as a state secret, while little or no information was
available on some other countries due to restrictive state practice.
Therefore, for a signicant number of countries, Amnesty International’s gures on the use of the
death penalty are minimum gures. The true overall numbers are likely to be higher.
In 2009 Amnesty International stopped publishing its estimated gures on the use of the
death penalty in China, a decision that reected concerns about how the Chinese authorities
misrepresented Amnesty International’s numbers. Amnesty International always made clear that
the gures it was able to publish on China were signicantly lower than the reality, because of the
restrictions on access to information. China has yet to publish any gures on the death penalty;
however, available information indicates that each year thousands of people are executed and
sentenced to death. Amnesty International renews its call on the Chinese authorities to publish
information on the use of the death penalty in China.
Where Amnesty International receives and is able to verify new information after publication of this
report, it updates its gures online at amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty
In tables and lists, where “+” appears after a gure next to the name of a country – for example,
Malaysia (16+) – it means that Amnesty International conrmed 16 executions, death sentences
or persons under sentence of death in Malaysia but believes that there were more than 16. Where
“+” appears after a country name without a gure – for instance, Syria (+) – it means that Amnesty
International has corroborated executions, death sentences or persons under sentence of death
(more than one) in that country but had insufcient information to provide a credible minimum gure.
When calculating global and regional totals, “+” has been counted as two, including for China.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the
nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the
method used by the state to carry out the execution. The organization campaigns for total abolition of
the death penalty.
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DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
THE USE OF THE DEATH
PENALTY IN 2022
“We have commuted the sentences of 30 of those who are
on death row to life imprisonment. [Zambia’s government]
has taken a decision, a big decision, to end the death
penalty in our country. We will work with Parliament to run
through this process as we transition away from the death
penalty and focus on the preservation [and] rehabilitation
of life while still delivering justice for all.”
President Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia, 24 May 2022
1
GLOBAL TRENDS
Amnesty International’s research on the global use of the death penalty in 2022 revealed a spike
in the number of people known to have been executed worldwide, including a signicant increase
in executions for drug-related offences. This negative trend contrasts with a countervailing positive
tendency: a substantial number of countries have taken decisive steps away from the death penalty in
2022, marking remarkable progress against the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
Known executions, excluding the thousands believed to have taken place in China, signicantly
increased by 53% on those for 2021, from 579 (2021) to 883 (2022). The executions recorded in
2022 were the highest since 2017 (993).
2
Secrecy and restrictive state practices continued to impair an
accurate assessment of the use of the death penalty in several countries, including China, North Korea
and Viet Nam.
The sharp increase in known global executions in 2022 was mainly due to the signicant increase
recorded in the Middle East and North Africa region, where known executions went up by 59%, from
520 in 2021 to 825 in 2022. A staggering 93% of known global executions (excluding China) in 2022
were carried out in the Middle East and North Africa region. Of the 825 executions recorded in the
region, 94% were carried out in Iran (70%) and Saudi Arabia (24%); two countries that routinely
execute people after unfair trials and where sharp increases in executions were recorded in 2022. In
Iran, recorded executions went up to 576 from 314 recorded the previous year, an increase of 83%. In
Saudi Arabia, recorded executions tripled from 65 (2021) to 196 (2022), the highest number Amnesty
International recorded in the country in 30 years.
1
‘President’s address to mark Africa Freedom Day’, President of Zambia, 24 May 2022, https://twitter.com/HHichilema/status/15291767
83567917060?s=20&t=UWGsVP5gR04PqZ3HUJ0F1Q
2
Amnesty International recorded 993 executions globally in 2017, 690 in 2018, 657 in 2019, 483 in 2020, and 579 in 2021.
8
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Four countries – China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Singapore – executed people for drug-related offences
in violation of international human rights law which prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes
that do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” (that is, crimes that involve intentional killing).
3
Executions for these offences were very likely to have been carried out in Viet Nam, but secrecy
prevented conrmation. At the end of 2022, 325 executions were recorded for drug-related offences.
The number more than doubled the 134 executions recorded for the crime in 2021 and represented
37% of known global executions in 2022. Of the 325 conrmed executions, 255 were recorded in
Iran – where drug-related offences accounted for 44% of known executions carried out in 2022 in the
country; 57 recorded in Saudi Arabia – where a moratorium on executions for drug-related offences,
which the Saudi Human Rights Commission had said was put in place in 2020, ended in 2022; and
11 recorded in Singapore – where executions resumed in 2022 and all executions in the year were for
drug-related offences. Amnesty International conrmed executions were carried out for drug-related
offences in China but had insufcient information to provide a credible minimum gure.
4
The escalation
in the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences is of grave concern to Amnesty International as
it is a violation of the right to life, undermines international human rights law and constitutes a threat to
the global progress already made against the death penalty.
Notwithstanding the drawbacks documented, remarkable progress against the death penalty was made
in 2022. Without doubt, the world continued to move away from the death penalty and only a minority
of countries – that are increasingly becoming isolated – actively used the punishment. Six countries
abolished the death penalty either fully or partially in 2022.
Four countries – Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic –
abolished the death penalty for all crimes. In Kazakhstan, a law that abolished the death penalty was
ofcially promulgated in January. By April, amendments to the Criminal Code which removed the death
penalty for all crimes became effective in Papua New Guinea. On 21 April 2022, the Abolition of the
Death Penalty Act 2021 which removed the death penalty from the laws of Sierra Leone was ofcially
promulgated. On 27 June 2022, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra of Central African Republic
signed into law a bill abolishing the death penalty which the National Assembly had passed a month
before. By the end of 2022, two countries – Equatorial Guinea and Zambia – had abolished the death
penalty for ordinary crimes only. Amnesty International considered these positive actions partial
abolitions due to the death penalty remaining in the military laws of the two countries at the end of the
year. In 1977, when Amnesty International started its global campaign for the worldwide abolition of the
death penalty, only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes. At the end of 2022, 112
countries were abolitionist for all crimes and 9 were abolitionist for ordinary crimes only.
5
Furthermore, Kazakhstan – without any reservations – became a state party to the Second Optional
Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death
penalty. Gambia, Maldives and Sri Lanka continued to observe ofcial moratoriums on executions. In
Asia, the authorities of Malaysia took steps towards reforming the mandatory death penalty; and the
Parliament of Indonesia adopted a new Criminal Code that, once effective in 2026, would allow for the
commutation of death sentences after 10 years if certain conditions are met. In the sub-Saharan Africa
region, legislative steps towards the abolition of the death penalty were taken. The Senate of Liberia, in
July, unanimously voted to abolish the death penalty in a penal code bill which was pending before the
House of Representatives at the end of 2022. In Ghana, legislative work continued on a bill to amend
the Criminal Offences Act 1960 and the Armed Forces Act 1962 to remove death penalty provisions
from the two laws.
3
Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 36 on Article 6: Right to Life, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36 para35.
4
In calculating the global total of executions carried out for drug-related offences, two were counted for China in accordance with
Amnesty International’s research methodology.
5
Amnesty International, “Abolitionist and retentionist countries (as of April 2023)” (Index: ACT50/6591/2023), April 2023,
amnesty.org/en/documents/act50/6591/2023/en/
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DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
In December, at the plenary session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), an unprecedented number
of UN member states supported the adoption of the biennial resolution calling for the establishment of
a moratorium on executions with a view to fully abolishing the death penalty.
6
Close to two-thirds of the
UN membership – 125 UN member states – voted to adopt the ninth resolution on a moratorium on the
use of the death penalty. Support for the resolution increased since it was last adopted in December
2020, an indication that the community of UN member states is steadily moving closer to rejecting the
death penalty as a lawful punishment under international human rights law. Several states changed
their vote positively compared to December 2020. Ghana, Liberia and Myanmar voted in favour after
abstaining at the UNGA plenary in 2020; Uganda changed its vote from against to in favour and Papua
New Guinea changed from against to abstention. Palau and Solomon Islands voted in favour after not
voting at the plenary in 2020.
FIGURE 1: ABOLITIONIST COUNTRIES FOR ALL CRIMES (2013-2022)
90
95
100
105
110
115
2013 2014 2015
Number of abolitionist countries for all crimes
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
EXECUTIONS
At least 883 executions were carried out in 2022 compared to 2021 when at least 579 occurred,
representing a 53% rise. For the second consecutive year, Amnesty International recorded an increase in
executions following a drop in those recorded in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
7
6
Since 2007, the UNGA has adopted nine resolutions calling for the establishment of a moratorium on executions with a view to
abolishing the death penalty, with increased cross-regional support. UNGA resolutions carry considerable moral and political weight and
the continued consideration of resolutions on this issue has kept scrutiny on the use of this cruel punishment as a human rights priority for
the international community. The overall number of votes in favour of these resolutions has risen from 104 in 2007 to 125 in 2022.
7
The total number of executions reported for 2020 represents one of the lowest gures that Amnesty International has recorded in any
given year since it began its monitoring of the use of the death penalty in 1979. However, changes in access to information, conguration
of countries and research methodology over the decades make it challenging to accurately compare this gure over a longer period.
10
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Similar to previous years, the global recorded totals do not include the thousands of executions that
Amnesty International believed were carried out in China, where data on the death penalty is classied
as a state secret.
8
In comparison to 2021 records, executions reduced signicantly in Egypt (from 83+ to 24), Iraq (from
17+ to 11+), Japan (from 3 to 1), Somalia (from 21+ to 6+), South Sudan (from 9+ to 5+) and Yemen
(from 14+ to 4+). In contrast, Amnesty International recorded notable increases in executions in Iran
(from 314+ to 576+), Kuwait (from 0 to 7), Myanmar (from 0 to 4), Palestine (State of) (from 0 to 5),
Saudi Arabia (from 65 to 196), Singapore (from 0 to 11) and USA (from 11 to 18).
Three countries – Egypt (24), Iran (at least 576) and Saudi Arabia (196) – accounted for 90% of all
known executions. Increases in recorded executions for murder and drug-related offences were largely
responsible for the spike in Iran: recorded executions for murder had risen sharply by 75% from 159
in 2021 to 279 in 2022; and rose signicantly for drug-related offences by 93% from 132 in 2021 to
255 in 2022. The 196 executions in Saudi Arabia were the highest recorded by Amnesty International
in the country in 30 years. The increase in recorded executions for terrorism-related offences and the
resumption of executions for drug-related offences were mainly responsible for the signicant increase
in executions in Saudi Arabia: recorded executions for terrorism-related offences rose from 9 in 2021 to
85 in 2022; and for drug-related offences from 0 in 2021 to 57 in 2022.
Thirteen women were among the 883 people known to have been executed in 2022 as follows: Iran (12),
Saudi Arabia (1).
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Recorded global executions
FIGURE 2: RECORDED GLOBAL EXECUTIONS (2013-2022)
Yearly totals
0
500
1000
1500
2000
8
In 2009 Amnesty International stopped publishing its estimated gures on the use of the death penalty in China. Instead, the
organization has challenged the authorities to prove their claims that they are achieving their goal of reducing the application of the death
penalty by publishing the gures themselves. Little or partial information was available for several other countries (see Note on Amnesty
International’s gures on the use of the death penalty in this report for further information).
11
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Amnesty International recorded executions in 20 countries compared to 18 in 2021. After a hiatus of
several years, executions resumed in ve countries: Afghanistan (rst since 2018), Kuwait (rst since 2017),
Myanmar (rst in four decades), Palestine (State of) (rst since 2017), Singapore (rst since 2019). Three
countries – Botswana, UAE and Oman – that carried out executions in 2021 did not do so in 2022.
EXECUTIONS RECORDED GLOBALLY IN 2022
Afghanistan (+), Bangladesh (4), Belarus (1), China (+), Egypt (24), Iran (576+), Iraq (11+),
Japan (1), Kuwait (7), Myanmar (4), North Korea (+), Palestine (State of) (5), Saudi Arabia (196),
Singapore (11), Somalia (6+), South Sudan (5+), Syria (+), USA (18), Viet Nam (+), Yemen (4+).
METHODS OF EXECUTIONS IN 2022
9
Beheading Saudi Arabia
Hanging Bangladesh Egypt Iran Iraq Japan Myanmar Singapore
South
Sudan
Syria
Lethal injection China USA Viet Nam
Shooting Afghanistan Belarus China Kuwait
North Korea
(Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea)
Palestine
(State of)
Somalia Yemen
2022 KNOWN EXECUTING COUNTRIES BY INTERNATIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
• Organization of American States: 1 out of 35 countries carried out executions – USA
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe: 2 out of 57 countries executed people –
Belarus and the USA
• African Union: 3 out of 55 countries carried out executions – Egypt, Somalia and South Sudan
• League of Arab States: 8 out of 22 countries executed people – Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Palestine
(State of), Saudi Arabia, Syria, Somalia and Yemen
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations: 3 out of 10 countries carried out executions
– Myanmar, Singapore and Viet Nam
• Commonwealth: 2 out of 56 countries executed people – Bangladesh and Singapore
• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie: 2 out of 54 countries carried out executions –
Egypt and Viet Nam
• United Nations: 19 out of 193 member states (10% of UN membership) were known to have
executed people – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait,
Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, USA, Viet Nam
and Yemen.
10
9
In line with previous years, Amnesty International did not receive any reports of judicial executions by stoning in 2022.
10
The State of Palestine has the status of a non-member observer State at the United Nations.
12
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
DEATH SENTENCES
The total number of death sentences recorded by Amnesty International in 2022 decreased slightly
on the 2021 global gure. At least 2,016 new death sentences were imposed, compared to at least
2,052 in 2021. However, variations in the nature and availability of information on death sentences
for some countries make the evaluation of this global total in comparison with those of previous years
methodologically challenging.
Amnesty International did not receive information on ofcial gures for death sentences imposed in
Nigeria and Sri Lanka, countries that reported high ofcial numbers of death sentences in previous
years. On the other hand, the authorities of Thailand provided Amnesty International with gures for
new death sentences imposed by courts of rst instance, unlike in previous years.
In 2022, death sentences were conrmed in 52 countries, four less than in 2021, when 56 countries
were known to have imposed death sentences. Five countries were known to have imposed death
sentences after a hiatus – Bahrain, Comoros, Laos, Niger and South Korea. No new death sentences
were recorded in Belarus, Cameroon, Japan, Malawi, Morocco/Western Sahara, Oman, Sierra Leone,
Uganda and Zimbabwe – all countries that were known to have sentenced people to death in 2021.
DEATH SENTENCES RECORDED GLOBALLY IN 2022
Afghanistan (+), Algeria (54), Bahrain (2+) Bangladesh (169+), Botswana (1),
China (+), Comoros (2), Democratic Republic of the Congo (76+), Egypt (538),
Ethiopia (2+), Gambia (9), Ghana (7), Guyana (4), India (165), Indonesia (112+),
Iran (+), Iraq (41+), Jordan (4+), Kenya (79), Kuwait (16+), Laos (5+), Lebanon
(2+), Libya (18+), Malaysia (16+), Maldives (1), Mali (8+), Mauritania (5+),
Myanmar (37+), Nigeria (77+), Niger (4+), North Korea (+), Pakistan (127+),
Palestine (State of) (28), Qatar (+), Saudi Arabia (12+), Singapore (5), Somalia
(10+), South Korea (1), South Sudan (4+), Sri Lanka (8+), Sudan (1+), Syria (+),
Taiwan (3), Tanzania (11), Thailand (104), Trinidad and Tobago (5+), Tunisia
(26+), UAE (2+), USA (21), Viet Nam (102+), Yemen (78+), Zambia (2+).
Amnesty International recorded a signicant increase in the number of death sentences imposed in
2022 compared to 2021 in the following countries: Algeria (from 9 to 54), Egypt (from 356+ to 538),
India (from 144 to 165), Kenya (from 14 to 79), Kuwait (from 5+ to 16+), Nigeria (from 56+ to 77+),
Tunisia (from 3+ to 26+). Signicant decreases in the number of death sentences imposed were
recorded in the following countries: Bangladesh (from 181+ to 169+), Iraq (from 91+ to 41+), Lebanon
(from 12+ to 2+), Malawi (from 11+ to 0), Mali (from 48 to 8+), Mauritania (from 60 to 5+), Myanmar
(from 86+ to 37+), Sierra Leone (from 23 to 0), Somalia (from 27+ to 10+), Viet Nam (from 119+ to
102+), Yemen (from 298+ to 78+).
Globally, at least 28,282 people were under sentence of death at the end of 2022.
11
11
For several countries where Amnesty International believed a high number of prisoners were under sentence of death, gures were not
available or it was impossible to estimate a credible number. These included China, Egypt, Iran, Libya, North Korea and Saudi Arabia.
13
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
COMMUTATIONS, PARDONS AND EXONERATIONS
Amnesty International recorded commutations or pardons of death sentences in 26 countries:
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Barbados, China, Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iraq,
Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco/Western Sahara, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, USA, Viet Nam, Zambia.
12
Amnesty International recorded at least 28 exonerations of prisoners under sentence of death in four
countries – Kenya (20), Morocco/Western Sahara (1), USA (2), Zimbabwe (5).
13
THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2022: IN VIOLATION OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW
The death penalty continued to be used in ways that violated international law and
standards in 2022. Some examples included:
• At least 3 public executions: in Afghanistan (1+) and Iran (2).
• At least 5 people – in Iran – were executed for crimes that occurred when
they were below 18 years of age; Amnesty International believed that
other people in this category remained on death row in Maldives, Iran and
Saudi Arabia.
14
• People with mental or intellectual disabilities were under sentence of
death in several countries, including Iran, Japan, Maldives and USA.
• Death sentences were known to have been imposed after proceedings
that did not meet international fair trial standards in several countries,
including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Egypt, Iran,
Iraq, Malaysia, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore,
Viet Nam and Yemen.
• “Confessions” that may have been extracted through torture or other
ill-treatment were used to convict and sentence people to death in Egypt,
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
• Death sentences were imposed without the defendant being present
(in absentia) in Bangladesh and Egypt.
12
Commutation is the process by which a death sentence is exchanged for a less severe sentence such as a term of imprisonment, often
by the judiciary on appeal but sometimes also by the executive. A pardon is granted when the convicted individual is completely exempted
from further punishment.
13
Exoneration is the process whereby, after sentencing and the conclusion of the appeals process, the convicted person is later cleared
from blame or acquitted of the criminal charge, and therefore is regarded as innocent in the eyes of the law.
14
Often the actual age of the prisoner is in dispute because no clear proof of age exists, such as a certicate of registration at birth.
Governments should apply a full range of appropriate criteria in cases where age is in dispute. Good practice in assessing age includes
drawing on knowledge of physical, psychological and social development. Each of these criteria should be applied in a way that gives
the benet of the doubt in disputed cases so that the individual is treated as a person who was below 18 years of age at the time of the
crime, and accordingly should ensure that the death penalty is not applied. Such an approach is consistent with the principle that the best
interests of the child shall be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children, as required by Article 3(1) of the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child.
14
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
THE DEATH PENALTY IN 2022: IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (CONTINUED)
• Mandatory death sentences were imposed in Afghanistan, Ghana, Iran,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Trinidad
and Tobago.
15
• Military courts sentenced civilians to death in Egypt, Libya, Myanmar and
Pakistan. Special Courts imposed death sentences in Bangladesh, India,
Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
• The death penalty was used for crimes that did not involve intentional
killing, and therefore did not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes”
under international law:
16
– Drug-related offences: Execution for drug-related offences were
recorded in China (+),
17
Iran (255), Saudi Arabia (57) and Singapore
(11); the total number of 325 constituted 37% of total executions
recorded globally. Information on Viet Nam, which is very likely to have
carried out such executions, was unavailable
– 213 new death sentences known to have been imposed in 9 countries:
Bangladesh (6), Egypt (1), China (+),
18
Indonesia (105), Laos (5),
Malaysia (8), Pakistan (1), Singapore (5) and Viet Nam (80). In Thailand,
of the 195 total number of people under sentence of death at the end
of 2022, 121 including 14 women had been convicted of drug-related
offences
– Economic crimes, such as corruption: China and Viet Nam.
– Apostacy: Libya
– Kidnapping: Iran and Saudi Arabia
– Rape: Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
– Different forms of “treason”, “acts against national security”,
“collaboration” with a foreign entity, “espionage”, “questioning the leader’s
policies”, participation in “insurrectional movement and terrorism”, “armed
rebellion against the ruler” and other “crimes against the state”, whether
or not they led to a loss of life: Iran and Saudi Arabia.
15
The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that “mandatory death sentences that leave domestic courts with no discretion as to
whether to designate the offence as a crime warranting the death penalty, and whether to issue the death sentence in the particular
circumstances of the offender, are arbitrary in nature.” Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 36 on Article 6: Right to Life, UN
Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36 [3 September 2019], para. 37.
16
As prescribed by Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Human Rights Committee, General Comment No.
36 on Article 6: Right to Life, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36 para35.
17
When calculating global and regional totals, “+” has been counted as two.
18
When calculating global and regional totals, “+” has been counted as two.
15
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
FIGURE 3: RECORDED GLOBAL EXECUTIONS FOR
DRUG-RELATED OFFENCES (2018-2022)
Non-drug related Drug-related
Recorded global executions
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
16
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
REGIONAL OVERVIEWS
AMERICAS
REGIONAL TRENDS
• Outgoing Governor of Oregon Kate Brown commuted all of this US state’s remaining death sentences
19
• Yearly totals of US death sentences and executions increased, but remained among historically low
gures
• For the sixth consecutive year, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA were the only three
countries in the Americas known to have imposed new death sentences; for the 14th consecutive
year, the USA was the only country in the region to execute people
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Antigua and Barbuda
0 0 0
Bahamas
0 0 0
Barbados
0 0 5
Belize
0 0 0
Cuba
0 0 0
Dominica
0 0 0
Grenada
0 0 1
Guatemala
0 0 0
Guyana
0 4 17
Jamaica
0 0 0
Saint Kitts and Nevis
0 0 0
Saint Lucia
0 0 0
Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines
0 0 1
Trinidad and Tobago
0 5+ 43
19
Oregon Capital Chronicle, “Oregon Gov. Kate Brown commutes 17 death sentences, ending death row”, 13 December 2022,
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2022/12/13/oregon-gov-kate-brown-commutes-17-death-sentences-ending-death-row/
17
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
USA
20
18 in 6 states:
Alabama (2)
Arizona (3)
Mississippi (1)
Missouri (2)
Oklahoma (5)
Texas (5)
21 new death
sentences in 12
states
Alabama (3)
Arizona (1)
California (2)
Florida (5)
Georgia (1)
Louisiana (1)
Mississippi (1)
Missouri (1)
North Carolina (2)
Oklahoma (1)
Pennsylvania (1)
Texas (2)
2,276 people, including 48 women,
held in 28 jurisdictions.
21
Eight states held more than 100
people:
California 670
Florida 299
Texas 186
Alabama 165
North Carolina 137
Ohio 126
Arizona 110
Pennsylvania 101
As the impact of restrictions put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic during 2020 and 2021
waned, the number of recorded US death sentences and executions showed an increase. Nevertheless,
this was not signicant enough to reverse the long-term downward trends recorded in recent decades.
US executions carried out in 2022 (18) increased by 64% on the 2021 total (11). Despite the rise, and
with the exception of the previous two years when proceedings were signicantly affected by restrictions
put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 total remained the lowest recorded since
1991 (Figure 4). All executions were carried out by lethal injection.
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
FIGURE 4: EXECUTIONS IN THE USA (1991-2022)
Number of yearly US executions
0
20
40
60
80
10
30
50
70
90
100
Executions carried out in the USA during the period 1991-2022.
20
Figures based on Amnesty International’s monitoring of information published by Departments of Corrections, courts and media in
relevant US states.
21
The state of New Hampshire, where the death penalty was abolished in 2019, still held one person under sentence of death.
18
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Six US states executed people during 2022. Arizona conducted executions for the rst time since 2014,
putting to death three men. The authorities of the other ve states had all carried out executions in
2021, with most reporting an increase in 2022 on their previous year’s tally: Alabama (from one in 2021
to two in 2022), Mississippi (one in 2021 and one in 2022), Missouri (from one to two), Oklahoma (from
two to ve), Texas (from three to ve). Oklahoma − where 10 executions had initially been set for 2022
22
− and Texas together carried out more than half the total of US executions in 2022. The Supreme Court
of South Carolina intervened in April to halt the state’s rst executions since 2011, which were set to be
carried out by ring squad.
23
Figures compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, DC, USA, indicated that the
number of execution warrants sought in 2022 (55) was signicantly higher than in 2021 (45).
24
Challenges with the sourcing of substances and amended protocols for lethal injections continued to
cause a hiatus in executions in several other states.
25
Idaho completed 10 years without executions in
June 2022, despite attempts by the state authorities to – unsuccessfully − resume executions.
26
The
Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, suspended executions and ordered an independent review, after he
had to intervene a month earlier to halt an execution one hour before it was due to be carried out due
to “a technical oversight” related to the substances for lethal injection.
27
Later in the year, the Governor
of Alabama, Kay Ivey, temporarily halted all executions and ordered a system-wide review, after two
failed attempts to carry out executions by lethal injection.
28
Ohio executions remained on hold, with
its Governor, Mike DeWine, issuing reprieves because of ongoing issues with the state lethal injection
method.
29
New death sentences imposed by US courts slightly increased compared to previous years, rising from
18 in both 2020 and 2021 to 21 in 2022, but remained the second-lowest gure since executions
resumed under revised laws after the US Supreme Court ruled the application of the death penalty
under the then existing statutes unconstitutional in 1972.
30
The number of states imposing death sentences in 2022 (12) nearly doubled compared to 2021
(seven). Courts in Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Pennsylvania
imposed death sentences after a hiatus;
31
while in Nebraska and Tennessee courts did not sentence
people to death in 2022, while they had done so in the previous year.
22
Death Penalty Information Center, “Outcomes of Death Warrants in 2022”, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/outcomes-of-death-
warrants-in-2022; Newsweek, “Oklahoma Execution Dates as State Plans to Kill Inmate Nearly Every Month”, 5 July 2022, https://www.
newsweek.com/oklahoma-execution-dates-state-plans-kill-inmate-nearly-every-month-1721724
23
CNN, “South Carolina’s highest court stays ring squad execution set for next week”, 20 April 2022, edition.cnn.com/2022/04/20/us/
south-carolina-execution-ring-squad-stay/index.html
24
Death Penalty Information Center, Outcomes of Death Warrants in 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/outcomes-of-death-
warrants-in-2022
25
In addition to Ohio, executions in 2022 were completely or in part on hold in several jurisdictions, including in Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Carolina, because of litigation and other challenges relating to
lethal injection procedures.
26
Idaho Department of Corrections, “IDOC director suspends preparation for Dec. 15 execution”, 30 November 2022, idoc.
idaho.gov/content/news/idoc-director-suspends-preparation-dec-15-execution#:~:text=15%20execution,-IDOC%20news%20
releae&text=Nov.,scheduled%20execution%20of%20Gerald%20Pizzuto.
27
TN Ofce of the Governor, “Gov. Lee Calls for Independent Review Following Smith Reprieve”, 2 May 2022, tn.gov/governor/
news/2022/5/2/gov--lee-calls-for-independent-review-following-smith-reprieve.html
28
Al.com, “Gov. Kay Ivey orders moratorium on executions in Alabama”, 22 November 2022, al.com/news/2022/11/gov-kay-ivey-orders-
moratorium-on-executions-in-alabama.html
29
Mike DeWine Governor of Ohio, “Governor DeWine Issues Reprieves”, 1 July 2022, governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/Governor-
DeWine-Issues-Reprieves-07012022
30
US Supreme Court, Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).
31
Before 2022, Arizona and Mississippi imposed their last death sentences in 2020; Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania in 2019;
and Louisiana and Missouri in 2018.
19
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE USA
Abolition of the death penalty in Virginia in 2021 brought to 23 the number of US states
that had abolished this punishment for all crimes, including 11 since the beginning of the
millennium.
32
Of the 27 remaining states, California, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Utah and Wyoming (14, or 52% of all states that retained the death penalty in law) had
not carried out executions for at least 10 years, with California, Oregon and Pennsylvania
observing governor-ordered moratoriums on executions. (Figure 5)
At the federal level, the US military authorities had not carried out any executions since
1961; the Biden administration continued to observe the temporary moratorium on
executions of people convicted under ordinary federal capital laws it had put in place
in July 2021. Under the previous Trump administration, executions resumed with 13
sentences carried out between July 2020 and January 2021, after a 17-year hiatus.
13
14
23
Death penalty states with
executions in last 10 years
Death penalty states with
no executions for last 10 years
States that have abolished
the death penalty
FIGURE 5: THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE 50 US STATES
At the end of 2022, 23 US states had fully abolished the death penalty. Of the remaining 27, 14 had not carried out executions in the
last 10 years.
While no executions were recorded at federal level in 2022, no progress was recorded with regard
to commutation of existing death sentences or legislative measures to abolish the death penalty. Six
men continued to face capital prosecution before unfair military commissions at the US naval base at
Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
32
The states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Virginia and
Washington. The District of Columbia has also abolished the death penalty.
20
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Several cases of those who faced executions in 2022 were affected by violations of restrictions on the
use of the death penalty established under international human rights law and standards, including
concerns of unfair trial;
33
racial discrimination and bias;
34
and breach of protections for those with
psycho-social (mental) and intellectual disabilities.
35
Two men who had been previously convicted and sentenced to death had the charges against them
dismissed in Illinois and Pennsylvania, after the courts considered evidence of inadequate legal
representation and ofcial misconduct in their cases, bringing the total number of such exonerations
since 1973 by year end to 190.
36
Outside the USA, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago imposed the only other known nine death
sentences in the Americas region. Trinidad and Tobago – the only country in the region to retain the
mandatory death penalty for murder – held more than half (64%) of the 67 people known to be under
sentence of death outside the USA.
Nine countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Guatemala, Jamaica,
Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia – did not hold anyone under sentence of death and did not
impose any new death sentences. Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines each continued to
hold one person formally under sentence of death, but neither death sentence can be implemented
due to court rulings.
The Court of Appeal of Guyana and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the nal appellate
court of Trinidad and Tobago) upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty in Guyana and of the
mandatory death penalty in Trinidad and Tobago, respectively.
37
33
Amnesty International, “USA: Further Information: Texas appeals court blocks execution − Melissa Lucio” (Urgent Action, AI Index:
AMR 51/5513/2022), 27 April 2022, amnesty.org/en/documents/amr51/5513/2022/en/
34
Amnesty International, “USA: Second Texas execution of 2023 goes ahead “(Urgent Action, AI Index: AMR 51/6417/2023), 2 February
2022, amnesty.org/en/documents/amr51/6417/2023/en/
35
Amnesty International, “USA: Man with mental disability executed − Benjamin Cole” (Urgent Action, AI Index: AMR 51/6140/2023), 21
October 2022, amnesty.org/en/documents/amr51/6140/2022/en/
36
For more information see Death Penalty Information Center, deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence-database
37
Guyana Times, “Appeal Court quashes death sentences imposed on 3 ex-GDF Coast Guards”, 22 December 2022, guyanatimesgy.
com/appeal-court-quashes-death-sentence-imposed-on-3-ex-gdf-coast-guards/; Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jay Chandler v.
The State No 2 (Trinidad and Tobago), [2022] UKPC 19, 16 May 2022, jcpc.uk/cases/docs/jcpc-2020-0051-judgment.pdf
21
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
ASIA-PACIFIC
REGIONAL TRENDS
• The military authorities carried out the rst executions in Myanmar in four decades, arbitrarily
depriving four people, including two-high prole opposition politicians, of their lives after grossly
unfair and secretive proceedings; executions resumed after a hiatus in Afghanistan and Singapore.
• Papua New Guinea became the 21st country in the Asia-Pacic region to have abolished the death
penalty for all crimes; the Minister of Home Affairs of Maldives and the President of Sri Lanka each
conrmed that death sentences would not be implemented in their country.
• China remained the world’s leading executioner but continued to keep its death penalty gures
shrouded in secrecy. Restrictive state practices, particularly in North Korea and Viet Nam,
continued to impede an accurate assessment of the use of the death penalty in the Asia-Pacic
region, which has the highest number of executions in the world.
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Afghanistan
+ + +
Bangladesh
4 169+ 2,000+
Brunei Darussalam
0 0 +
China
+ + +
India
38
0 165 539
Indonesia
0 112+ 452+
Japan
1 0 116
Laos
0 5+ +
Malaysia
0 16+ 1,337
39
Maldives
0 1 20
Myanmar
4 37+ 119+
North Korea
+ + +
38
Project 39A, Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report 2022, January 2023, https://www.project39a.com/annual-statistics-
reports..
39
Written answer to Parliament, Third meeting, fth term, fourteenth Parliament, 4 October 2022. Data given as of 23 September 2022.
The total included 891 people (67%) under sentence of death for drug-related offences. The ofcial gure of 1,320 published by the
authorities in February 2023 suggests that commutations of death sentences could have taken place after September 2022 and that the
end of the year total could be lower.
22
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Pakistan
0 127+ 3,831+
40
Papua New Guinea
0 0 28
Singapore
11 5 50+
South Korea
0 1 60
Sri Lanka
0 8+ 1,000+
Taiwan
0 3 45
Thailand
0 104 195
Tonga
0 0 0
Viet Nam
+ 102+ 1200+
The year began with debates before the parliament of Papua New Guinea on a bill to amend the
Criminal Code and remove the death penalty for all crimes. The Parliament adopted the bill on 20
January 2022, which became effective on 12 April 2022.
41
Further positive commitments were made
by other administrations in the Asia-Pacic region during the year: Imran Abdulla, Minister of Home
Affairs of Maldives, conrmed before Parliament in June that the government would continue to observe
its policy of a moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty;
42
and Ranil Wickremesinghe,
President of Sri Lanka, conrmed through an undertaking to the Supreme Court in an ongoing legal
challenge that he would not authorize the implementation of the death penalty.
43
Moreover, the
authorities of Malaysia took steps towards reforming the mandatory death penalty and the Parliament of
Indonesia adopted a new Criminal Code that, once effective in 2026, would allow for the commutation
of death sentences after 10 years if certain conditions are met.
On the other hand, the number of countries known to have carried out executions in the region during
the year increased from ve in 2021 to eight in 2022. The military authorities carried out the rst
executions in Myanmar in four decades, arbitrarily depriving four people of their lives after grossly
unfair and secretive proceedings.
44
The Taliban authorities resumed judicial executions, including
publicly, in Afghanistan, after none were recorded in the country for the previous three years.
45
40
Justice Project Pakistan, Submission to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Report on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death
Penalty: Information for the Secretary-General’s report to the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th Session, April 2022.
41
Parliament of Papua New Guinea, Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, Act no.10 of 2022.
42
The Edition, “Maldives to continue moratorium on death penalty: Home Minister”, 6 June 2022, edition.mv/imran_abdulla_home_
minister/24877
43
Colombo Page, “President informs the Supreme Court that he will not sign the death sentences”, 1 September 2022, colombopage.
com/archive_22B/Sep01_1662007289CH.php
44
Amnesty International, “Myanmar: First executions in decades mark atrocious escalation in state repression”, 25 July 2022, amnesty.
org/en/latest/news/2022/07/myanmar-rst-executions-in-decades-mark-atrocious-escalation-in-state-repression/
45
Afghanistan: Amnesty International condemns public execution by the Taliban, 7 December 2022, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/
news/2022/12/afghanistan-amnesty-international-condemns-public-execution-by-the-taliban/
23
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
The Singapore authorities executed people for the rst time since 2019, after appeals in key cases were
dismissed. The governments of India and Taiwan continued to observe a hiatus in executions for the
second consecutive year.
FIGURE 6: EXECUTIONS IN SINGAPORE (2018-2022)
Executions
0
3
6
9
12
15
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
The number of new death sentences recorded regionally in 2022 (861) increased by 5% on the 2021
total (819), reaching similar gures to those recorded by Amnesty International before the Covid-19
pandemic put court proceedings in several countries on hold.
46
The increase was partly attributable
to the fact that the Thailand authorities provided Amnesty International with gures for new death
sentences imposed by courts of rst instance, unlike in previous years. However, a signicant rise on
2021 was recorded in India, where the 165 known total represented the highest yearly gure registered
since 2000.
47
The recorded death sentences in Pakistan (at least 127) remained as high as in 2021 (at
least 129). While the numbers of death sentences imposed in this country in recent years increased,
the yearly total remained lower than pre-pandemic levels (see Figure 7). The high rate of new death
sentences recorded by Amnesty International in Indonesia in 2021 also continued into and throughout
2022, leaving the yearly total for that country substantially unchanged (at least 114 in 2021 to at least
112 in 2022). The known number of new death sentences imposed in Singapore halved compared to
2021 (from 10 to 5).
46
In 2018 and 2019 respectively, at least 1,100 and 1,227 new death sentences were known to have been imposed in the Asia-Pacic
region.
47
Project 39A, Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report 2022, January 2023, project39a.com/annual-statistics-reports
24
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Recorded death sentences
FIGURE 7: DEATH SENTENCES RECORDED IN PAKISTAN (2018-2022)
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
The number of countries known to have sentenced people to death in 2022 (17) slightly increased
compared to 2021 and 2020 (16). Courts in Laos and South Korea were known to have imposed death
sentences in 2022, while none were recorded in these countries for 2021. No new death sentences were
known to have been imposed in Japan in 2022, while three people were sentenced to hanging in 2021.
Secrecy surrounding gures and limited access to information in China, North Korea and Viet
Nam, as well as lack of transparency in several other countries, made it impossible to verify reports
and assess the true extent of the use of the death penalty in the region. Based on its monitoring,
Amnesty International believed that the number of death sentences imposed and executions carried
out in China during the year remained in the thousands. Similarly, lack of access to North Korea
and independent media sources continued to make it impossible for Amnesty International to
verify reports and information it received on the use of the death penalty in this country. Amnesty
International considers it very likely that executions were carried out, including publicly, and that
death sentences were imposed at a sustained rate including after summary trials. There were
concerns that the death penalty was used for a range of acts that either did not meet the threshold
of the “most serious crimes” to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under
international law, or which could not be considered to constitute recognizable criminal offences
complying with international human rights law requirements. Partial disclosures in Laos and Viet Nam
suggested that these countries resorted to the death penalty extensively, but it was impossible on
the basis of this incomplete information to determine estimates for the year. Therefore the gures
included in this report are based on Amnesty International’s monitoring.
25
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
The use of the death penalty in the Asia-Pacic region continued to violate international law and
standards in many cases. In Myanmar, the military authorities continued to resort to this punishment as
a tool of state repression against protesters and political opponents. Four men were arbitrarily executed
in secret. The proceedings against them before a military-controlled court were secretive and grossly
unfair. Following the issuing of Martial Law Order 3/2021,
48
the military had transferred authority from
civilian courts to special or existing military tribunals to try cases of civilians in some townships. These
tribunals oversaw trials involving a wide range of offences, including those punishable with the death
penalty, through summary proceedings and without a right to appeal. The alarming developments
recorded in 2021, which saw an increase in the imposition of death sentences as part of ongoing and
widespread persecution, intimidation and harassment of and violence against the population, including
protesters and journalists, continued in 2022. Although the number of recorded death sentences in
2022 decreased by 57% compared to 2021 (86), the 37 people reported to have been sentenced to
death were convicted in similarly unfair proceedings.
The death penalty was extensively used in the region for offences that did not meet the threshold of
the “most serious crimes” to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international
law.
49
Executions of people convicted of drug-related offences were recorded in China and also
Singapore, where all 11 people executed in 2022 had been sentenced to the mandatory death penalty
for drug trafcking. Executions for this offence were also believed to have been carried out in Viet Nam.
New drug-related death sentences were known to have been imposed in:
• Bangladesh (6 out of 169);
• China (no gure available);
• Indonesia (105, or 94% of all recorded death sentences; this includes the only woman known to
have been sentenced to death in the country in 2022);
• Laos, where all ve recorded new death sentences were imposed for drug trafcking;
• Malaysia, where half of the 16 recorded total were imposed for drug trafcking;
• Pakistan, where one new death sentence was recorded for drug trafcking;
• Singapore, where all ve mandatory new death sentences were related to drug trafcking;
50
• and Viet Nam (80, or 78% of the recorded total).
In Thailand, ofcial gures indicated that of the 195 people under sentence of death at the end
of 2022, 121 including 14 women had been convicted of drug-related offences. In November, the
Parliament of Sri Lanka adopted the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, which
made possession and trafcking of 5g or more of methamphetamine punishable by death.
51
On the
other hand, in December, the National Assembly of Pakistan adopted a bill abolishing the death penalty
for drug-related offences.
52
48
Martial Law Order 3/2021, 16 March 2021.
49
See p. 14 in the global overview for more detailed information.
50
This total included the mandatory death sentence imposed on a man as a result of the Attorney General’s Ofce not issuing a
“certicate of substantial assistance”. The man had been found by the judge to have been involved only in the transporting of drugs,
but the judge could not exercise sentencing discretion between death and life imprisonment with caning because the certicate was not
issued.
51
Act No. 41 of 2022, effective from 25 November 2022, parliament.lk/uploads/acts/gbills/english/6277.pdf
52
National Assembly of Pakistan, The Control of Narcotic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2022., adopted on 20 December 2022, https://
na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/63a1b97d961f2_119.pdf
26
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Economic crimes, such as corruption, which also do not meet the threshold of the “most serious
crimes” under international law and standards, were punished by death in China and Viet Nam during
the year. Amnesty International recorded 10 cases involving former ofcials who were convicted of
corruption in China and received a “suspended” death sentence – with the possibility of commutation
after two years – in an apparent increase compared to previous years.
Sentences related to sexual offences not resulting in death, which also do not meet the threshold of the
“most serious crimes”, were recorded in several countries including Bangladesh (13), India (5)
53
and
Pakistan (7).
Amnesty International recorded four new death sentences imposed in Pakistan for “blasphemy”,
an act that does not constitute a recognizable criminal offence complying with requirements under
international human rights law.
People who were below 18 years of age at the time of the offence for which they had been convicted
remained under sentence of death in Maldives. A man with an intellectual disability was executed in
Singapore in April.
54
In many countries across the Asia-Pacic region, Amnesty International was concerned that
proceedings did not meet international standards for a fair trial. The Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Afghanistan raised serious concerns in relation to the independence and
qualications of those appointed by the Taliban to adjudicate cases, the frequent lack of separation
between investigating ofcials and the judiciary, as well as over the common lack of due process.
55
Death sentences were imposed by courts established under emergency legislation or to try specic
offences instead of ordinary courts, including through expedited proceedings in Bangladesh, India
and Pakistan. Among other examples, in Bangladesh 14 death sentences were imposed on people
convicted and sentenced by the International Crimes Tribunal, a Bangladeshi court established to
investigate war crimes and other gross violations of human rights committed during the country’s
1971 War of Independence. On 29 November, the Parliament of Singapore adopted the Post-appeal
Applications in Capital Cases Bill,
56
introducing a new procedure for post-appeal applications in capital
cases which further restricts the circumstances in which those facing the death penalty can apply for a
review of the case after the ordinary appeals process is concluded. This had the effect of curtailing the
grounds and modalities for critical last-minute appeals to halt executions.
53
Project 39A, Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report 2022, January 2023, project39a.com/annual-statistics-reports, p.17.
54
Amnesty International, “Singapore: Abhorrent hangings must end as man with intellectual disability executed”, 27 April 2022, amnesty.
org/en/latest/news/2022/04/singapore-abhorrent-hangings-must-end-as-man-with-intellectual-disability-executed/
55
Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett (Advance
Edited Version), UN Doc. A/HRC/52/84, 9 February 2023, para. 51.
56
Parliament of Singapore, Bill No. 34/2022, parliament.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/post-appeal-applications-
in-capital-cases-bill-34-2022.pdf
27
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA
REGIONAL TRENDS
• Belarus remained the only country in the region carrying out executions.
• Kazakhstan abolished the death penalty for all crimes and ratied a key UN treaty on abolition.
• Russia and Tajikistan continued to observe moratoriums on executions.
• Following its exit from the Council of Europe, Russia ceased to be a signatory to Protocol No. 6 to the
European Convention on Human Rights concerning the abolition of the death penalty.
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Belarus
1 0 1
Kazakhstan
0 0 1
57
Russia
0 0 0
Tajikistan
0 0 0
In Belarus, one man was executed
58
and one man was believed to be on death row at the end of
2022.
59
In May, Belarusian authorities adopted a new law introducing the death penalty for “attempts to
carry out acts of terrorism”, in violation of the restriction on the use of the death penalty related to “the
most serious crimes”
60
and the stated goal of abolition under Article 6 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
61
to which Belarus is a state party.
62
In Kazakhstan, the law which removed the death penalty from the laws of the country became effective
in January.
63
In March, Kazakhstan became a state party to the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR,
without any reservations.
64
In June, constitutional amendments entered into force that enshrined the
abolition of the death penalty in the Constitution.
65
57
According to the Kazakhstani authorities, in January, the case of the last remaining person on death row was sent for review to change
the death sentence to life imprisonment. However, by the end of 2022, there was no publicly available information on whether this death
sentence was commuted.
58
Human Rights Center Viasna, “Condemned prisoner's death date revealed more than a year after the execution”, 17 February 2023,
spring96.org/en/news/110810
59
Amnesty International, Belarus Must Not Execute Viktar Serhil (Index: EUR 49/1845/2020), 19 February 2020, amnesty.org/en/wp-
content/uploads/2021/05/EUR4918452020ENGLISH.pdf
60
UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), General Comment 36 on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on
the right to life, 3 September 2019, UN Doc. CCPR/C/GC/36, para 35.
61
HRC, General Comment 36, (previously cited) para 34.
62
Amnesty International, “Belarus: New death penalty law is the ultimate attack on human rights”, 19 May 2022, amnesty.org/en/latest/
news/2022/05/belarus-new-death-penalty-law-is-the-ultimate-attack-on-human-rights/
63
On 29 December 2021, the President of Kazakhstan signed into law, Law No. 89-VII, "On amendments and additions to certain legislative
acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the issue of abolishing the death penalty”. The law was ofcially promulgated in January 2022.
64
UN, Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, 15
December 1989.
65
The Astana Times, “Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Amendments to Expand People’s Participation in State Governance, 12 May 2022,
astanatimes.com/2022/05/kazakhstans-constitutional-amendments-to-expand-peoples-participation-in-state-governance/
28
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA
REGIONAL TRENDS
• Recorded executions increased by 59%.
• 94% of executions recorded in the region were carried out in Iran (70%) and Saudi Arabia (24%).
• Executions resumed in Kuwait and the State of Palestine for the rst time since 2017.
• Recorded death sentences decreased slightly and were imposed in 16 countries, down from 17 in
2021.
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Algeria
0 54 +
Bahrain
0 2+ 41+
Egypt
24 538 +
Iran
576+ + +
Iraq
11+ 41+ 7,900+
Israel
66
0 0 0
Jordan
0 4+ 219+
Kuwait
7 16+ 24+
Lebanon
0 2+ +
Libya
0 18+
67
18+
Morocco/Western Sahara
0 0 82
Oman
0 0 +
Palestine (State of)
5
68
28 238+
Qatar
0 + +
Saudi Arabia
196 12+ 21+
Syria
+ + +
Tunisia
0 26+ 115+
United Arab Emirates
0 2+ 11+
Yemen
4+ 78+ 84+
66
Amnesty International classies Israel as abolitionist for ordinary crimes because its laws provide for the death penalty only for exceptional
crimes such as crimes under military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances. The last execution took place in 1962.
67
The 18 recorded death sentences were imposed by courts in western Libya, in areas under the control of the Government of National
Unity (GNU). Amnesty International was able to conrm that death sentences were also passed by military courts in eastern Libya in
territories under the de facto control of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) armed group. However, given that proceedings by such
courts are shrouded in secrecy and independent observers are not granted access, Amnesty International is not able to provide a credible
minimum gure on the number of death sentences passed. No executions had been carried out in Libya since the 2011-armed conict.
68
These executions were carried out by the Hamas de facto administration in the Gaza Strip.
29
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
The number of executions recorded by Amnesty International in the Middle East and North Africa
region increased signicantly by 59% from 520 in 2021 to 825 in 2022; and recorded death sentences
decreased slightly from 834 in 2021 to 827 in 2022.
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Recorded executions and death sentences
FIGURE 8: EXECUTIONS AND DEATH SENTENCES RECORDED
IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA (2013-2022)
Death sentencesExecutions
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
Amnesty International recorded executions in eight countries in the region – Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Palestine (State of), Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen. No executions were recorded in Oman and United
Arab Emirates (UAE), countries that executed in 2021. Executions resumed in Kuwait and the State
of Palestine for the rst time since 2017. In September, the Hamas de facto administration in the
Gaza Strip executed ve people – three for murder and two for spying for Israel. In November, Kuwait
executed seven people – one Ethiopian woman, one Syrian man, one Pakistani man and four Kuwaiti
men.
69
Compared to 2021, recorded executions reduced in the following countries: Egypt (83 to 24);
Iraq (17 to 11); and Yemen (14 to 4). The 825 executions recorded in the region in 2022 were the
highest recorded by Amnesty International since 2017.
Iran and Saudi Arabia were mainly responsible for the signicant increase in recorded executions in
2022. Of the total number of executions recorded in the region, 94% were carried out in Iran (70%)
and Saudi Arabia (24%).
69
Amnesty International, Kuwait: Authorities must halt imminent execution of seven prisoners (News story, 15 November 2022), https://www.
amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/11/kuwait-authorities-must-halt-imminent-execution-of-seven-prisoners/; “Kuwait hangs seven
people in rst executions since 2017”, Al Jazeera, 16 November 2022, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/16/kuwait-
executes-seven-people-despite-international-outcry
30
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
Amnesty International recorded 576 executions in Iran, an increase of 83% compared to 2021 when
314 executions were recorded.
70
Of the 576 executions recorded by Amnesty International, 279 (48%)
were for murder; 255 (44%) were for drug-related offences; 21 were for rape; 18 were for moharebeh
(enmity against God);
71
and three were for unknown crimes. Two executions were carried out in public,
and 12 women were executed. During the year, the Iranian authorities executed ve people who
were under the age of 18 at the time of the offence for which they had been convicted.
72
Increases
in recorded executions for murder and drug-related offences were largely responsible for the 83%
spike in recorded executions in Iran. Recorded executions for murder had risen sharply by 75% from
159 in 2021 to 279 in 2022; and spiked for drug-related offences by 93%, from 132 in 2021 to 255
in 2022.
73
The Iranian authorities continued to use the death penalty as a tool of political repression
and to disproportionately execute members of ethnic minorities as part of the long-term, entrenched
discrimination and repression of these groups.
74
FIGURE 9: RECORDED EXECUTIONS IN IRAN
AND SAUDI ARABIA (2018-2022)
Iran Saudi Arabia
Recorded executions in Iran and Saudi Arabia
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
70
Many of the executions carried out in Iran in 2022 followed grossly unfair trials.
71
Two were in relation to the nationwide protests that have erupted in Iran since 16 September 2022.
72
International human rights law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty for people who were below the age of 18 at the time of the
offence for which they have been convicted.
73
Between 2018 and 2020, the authorities considerably reduced drug-related executions. However, in 2021, at least 132 people
were executed for drug-related offences, accounting for 42% of overall recorded executions and representing more than a ve-fold
rise from 2020 (23).The law still provides for a mandatory death penalty once courts convict a person of being in possession of
specic amounts of drugs; the amount varies according to the type of drug.
74
Amnesty International, Iran: Horric wave of executions must be stopped (News story, 27 July 2022), https://www.amnesty.org/en/
latest/news/2022/07/iran-horric-wave-of-executions-must-be-stopped
31
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency, the ofcial news agency of the Saudi Arabia government,
ofcially published details of the execution of 148 people – one woman and 147 men – in 2022 based
on announcements by the Ministry of Interior. Of the 148 executions reported, 84 were for terrorism-
related offences; 33 for murder; 20 for drug-related offences; four for rape and kidnap; three for rape,
robbery and drug-related offences; one for murder and rape; one for rape; one for robbery, assault
and attempted murder; and one for robbery, rape and torture. Of the 148 people reported to have
been executed, 112 were Saudi Arabian nationals. The others were foreign nationals from the following
countries: Egypt (4); Ethiopia (3); Indonesia (2); Jordan (3); Myanmar (1); Nepal (1); Nigeria (2);
Pakistan (3); Palestine (State of) (1); Syria (6) and Yemen (10).
However, in response to Amnesty International’s request for information on the use of the death penalty
in the country, the Saudi Human Rights Commission informed the organization that 196 people were
executed in 2022 – which tripled the 65 executions recorded in 2021 and is the highest number
recorded by Amnesty International in the country in 30 years. Of the 196 people executed, the Saudi
Human Rights Commission said that 85 were convicted of terrorism-related offences and 57 of drug-
related offences. The execution of the 57 people for drug-related offences marked the resumption of
executions for drug-related offences in Saudi Arabia following a moratorium on executions, for these
offences, in place since 2020 according to the Commission.
75
For the second year running, recorded executions continued to increase at an alarming rate in Saudi
Arabia, a sharp contrast to the 27 executions recorded in the country in 2020. On a single day in
March, the Saudi authorities carried out the mass execution of 81 people.
76
The fact that the number
of executions the Saudi Arabia Human Rights Commission provided to Amnesty International is much
higher than those announced during the year by the Saudi Press Agency, raises serious concerns about
Saudi Arabia’s transparency on the use of the death penalty.
The Iranian authorities continued to use the death
penalty as a tool of political repression and to
disproportionately execute members of ethnic minorities
as part of the long-term, entrenched discrimination and
repression of these groups.
75
In January 2021, the Saudi Human Rights Commission said the country had introduced a moratorium on executions for drug-related
crimes; HRC International (Ofcial Twitter account of the Saudi Human Rights Commission), Twitter post, 18 January 2021, twitter.com/
HRCSaudi_EN/status/1351087958565281793: “#Saudi Arabia drastically decreases application of death penalty in 2020.”
76
Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia: Mass execution of 81 men shows urgent need to abolish the death penalty (News story, 15 March 2022),
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/03/saudi-arabia-mass-execution-of-81-men-shows-urgent-need-to-abolish-the-death-
penalty
32
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
FIGURE 10: RECORDED EXECUTIONS FOR DRUG-RELATED
OFFENCES IN IRAN AND SAUDI ARABIA (2018-2022)
Iran Saudi Arabia
Recorded executions for drug-related offences
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Amnesty International recorded the imposition of death sentences in all countries in the region except
Israel, Morocco/Western Sahara and Oman, a total number of 16 (down from 17 in 2021). Of the 827
death sentences recorded in 2022, 538 (65%) were imposed in Egypt.
77
Of the 538 death sentences,
seven were imposed for drug-related offences; 13 for rape and other sexual offences; and 47 on
women. Compared to 2021, increases in death sentences were recorded in Algeria (9 to 54), Bahrain
(0 to 2), Egypt (356 to 538), Kuwait (5 to 16), Palestine (State of) (21 to 28), Saudi Arabia (8 to 12),
Tunisia (3 to 26). In contrast, signicant reductions in death sentences were recorded in Iraq (91 to 41),
Jordan (11 to 4), Lebanon (12 to 2 ) and Yemen (298 to 78). Amnesty International was able to conrm
that death sentences were imposed in Iran but had insufcient information to provide a credible
minimum gure. At least 20 commutations and at least seven pardons were granted in the region.
77
Many of the death sentences were imposed following grossly unfair trials, including by emergency courts, marred by credible
reports of torture and enforced disappearances.
33
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
REGIONAL TRENDS
• The use of the death penalty fell in the region; recorded executions dropped by 67% and recorded
death sentences reduced by 20%.
• Executions were recorded in two countries, Somalia and South Sudan – one fewer compared to
2021.
• Death sentences were recorded in 16 countries, a decrease of 3 compared to 2021.
• Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic abolished the death penalty for all crimes; Equatorial
Guinea and Zambia abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes only.
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Botswana
0 1 7
Burkina Faso
0 0 0
Cameroon
0 0 250+
Central African
Republic
0 0 0
Comoros
0 2 12
Democratic Republic
of the Congo
0 76+ 166+
Equatorial Guinea
0 0
Eritrea
0 0
Eswatini
0 0 1
Ethiopia
0 2+ +
Gambia
0 9 13
Ghana
0 7 172
Kenya
0 79 656
Lesotho
0 0 0
Liberia
0 0 17
Malawi
0 0 +
Mali
0 8+ 8+
34
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
COUNTRY
2022 RECORDED
EXECUTIONS
2022 RECORDED
DEATH SENTENCES
PEOPLE KNOWN TO BE UNDER SENTENCE
OF DEATH AT THE END OF 2022
Mauritania
0 5+ 163+
Niger
0 4+ 8+
Nigeria
0 77+ 3,167+
Sierra Leone
0 0 0
Somalia
6+ 10+ 10+
South Sudan
5+ 4+ 341+
Sudan
0 1+ 96+
Tanzania
0 11 491+
Uganda
0 0 135+
Zambia
0 2+ 390+
Zimbabwe
0 0 61
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Number of recorded executions and death sentences
FIGURE 11: EXECUTIONS AND DEATH SENTENCES RECORDED
IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (2013-2022)
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Executions Death sentences
35
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
The sub-Saharan Africa region made remarkable progress against the death penalty in 2022. The number of
executions, executing countries and death sentences recorded during the year substantially reduced, while
two countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes and another two abolished it for ordinary crimes only.
Recorded executions in the region went down by 67%, from 33 in 2021 to 11 in 2022. Executions
were recorded in two countries – Somalia and South Sudan – the lowest number of executing countries
recorded by Amnesty International in the region since 2017. No executions were recorded in Botswana,
which had carried out executions in 2021. Compared to 2021, recorded executions reduced sharply in
Somalia from 21 to 6; and went down in South Sudan from 9 to 5.
Recorded death sentences decreased by 20%, from 373 in 2021 to 298 in 2022. The death sentences
recorded in 2022 were imposed in 16 countries, a decrease of 3 compared to 2021. The 20% drop in
recorded death sentences was due to notable reductions in recorded death sentences in the following
countries in 2022 compared to 2021: Botswana (6 to 1); Cameroon (4 to 0); Democratic Republic of
the Congo (81 to 76); Malawi (11 to 0); Mali (48 to 8); Somalia (27 to 10); Sierra Leone (23 to 0), South
Sudan (10 to 4); Sudan (7 to 1). Despite these decreases, two countries had signicant increases of
recorded death sentences in 2022 compared to 2021: Kenya (14 to 79) and Nigeria (56 to 77).
At least 240 commutations and at least 67 pardons were granted, and at least 27 exonerations
occurred across several countries in the region. A signicant number of commutations were granted
in the following countries: Kenya (12); Malawi (25); Nigeria (48); Sierra Leone (117) and Zambia (30).
In Nigeria, 56 people were pardoned by the authorities; while 20 people in Kenya and 5 people in
Zimbabwe were exonerated by the courts. At the end of the year, at least 6,168 people were under
sentence of death in sub-Saharan Africa, with those in Nigeria constituting 51% (3,167) of the recorded
number.
Four countries in the region abolished the death penalty either fully or partially: Sierra Leone and the
Central African Republic abolished the death penalty for all crimes while Equatorial Guinea and Zambia
abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes only.
In Sierra Leone, on 21 April 2022, the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 2021 – which removed the
death penalty from the laws of the country – was ofcially promulgated.
78
On 27 May 2022, the National
Assembly of the Central African Republic voted in favour of a bill abolishing the death penalty in the
country.
79
A month later, on 27 June 2022, President Faustin-Archange Touadéra signed the bill into law.
80
On 19 September, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue,
announced that Equatorial Guinea had abolished the death penalty.
81
This followed the signing of a new
Penal Code, dated 17 August 2022, by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
82
The Penal Code
in Equatorial Guinea no longer provides for the death penalty. However, at the end of the year the death
penalty remained in the Military Code of Justice for crimes under military laws.
83
78
The Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 2021, Supplement to the Sierra Leone Gazette Vol. CXLXIII, No. 22, 21 April 2022. In the
previous year, on 23 July 2021, the Parliament of Sierra Leone voted in favour of a bill abolishing the death penalty. On 8 October
2021, President Julius Maada signed the bill. However, the law was ofcially promulgated on 21 April 2022.
79
“Central African Republic abolishes death penalty”, Vatican News, 28 May 2022, https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2022-
05/central-african-republic-abolishes-death-penalty.html
80
Portant abolition de la peine de mort en République Centrafricaine, “Loi No. 22.011”, 27 Juin 2022.
81
Teodoro Nguema, Tweet (19 September 2022), https://twitter.com/teonguema/status/1571837888593117186
82
Del Codigo Penal en la Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial, Ley No 4/2022, 17 de Agosto.
83
Codigo de Justicia Militar.
36
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
On 23 December, the Ofce of the President of Zambia announced that President Hakainde Hichilema
had assented to the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill number 25 of 2022, which abolished the death
penalty in the country’s Penal Code.
84
The Penal Code was amended to replace the death penalty with
life imprisonment and no longer provides for the death penalty.
85
However, at the end of the year the
death penalty remained in the Defence Act of Zambia for crimes under military laws.
86
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Number of countries
FIGURE 12: NUMBER OF COUNTRIES KNOWN TO HAVE CARRIED OUT
EXECUTIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA (2013-2022)
0
1
2
3
4
5
Executing countries
84
Ofce of the President, Press Release, “President Hakainde Hichilema assents into law the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill number
25 of 2022, abolishes the imposition of the death penalty and the offence of criminal defamation of the President” (23 December
2022).
85
The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2022, Number 25 of 2022.
86
The Defence Act, Chapter 106 of the Laws of Zambia.
37
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
FIGURE 13: COUNTRIES THAT HAVE ABOLISHED THE DEATH
PENALTY FOR ALL CRIMES IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
87
87
Burkina Faso (2018), Equatorial Guinea (2022) and Zambia (2022) have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes only.
These are countries whose laws provide for the death penalty only for exceptional crimes such as crimes under military law or
crimes committed in exceptional circumstances.
1981
1990
1992
1993
1995
1997
2000
2004
2007
2009
2010
2015
2016
2017
2020
2022
GUINEA-BISSAU SEYCHELLES
DJIBOUTI MAURITIUS
BURUNDI TOGO
CONGO MADAGASCAR
CAPE VERDE
ANGOLA
SOUTH AFRICA
CÔTE D’IVOIRE
SENEGAL
RWANDA
GABON
BENIN
GUINEA
CHAD
SIERRA LEONE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE
Year of abolition
38
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
ANNEX I: RECORDED
EXECUTIONS AND DEATH
SENTENCES IN 2022
This report only covers the judicial use of the death penalty and does not include gures for
extrajudicial executions. Amnesty International only reports gures for which it can nd reasonable
conrmation, although the true gures for some countries are signicantly higher. Some states
intentionally conceal death penalty proceedings; others do not keep or make available data on the
numbers of death sentences and executions.
Where “+” appears after a gure next to the name of a country – for example, Iraq (11+) – it means
that Amnesty International conrmed 11 executions or death sentences in Iraq but believes there were
more than 11. Where “+” appears after a country name without a gure – for instance, Viet Nam (+) – it
means that Amnesty International has corroborated executions or death sentences (more than one) in
that country but had insufcient information to provide a credible minimum gure. When calculating
global and regional totals, “+” has been counted as two including for China.
RECORDED EXECUTIONS IN 2022
China 1,000s
Iran 576+
Saudi Arabia 196
Egypt 24
USA 18
Iraq 11+
Singapore 11
Kuwait 7
Somalia 6+
South Sudan 5+
State of Palestine 5
Yemen 4+
Bangladesh 4
Myanmar 4
Belarus 1
Japan 1
Afghanistan +
North Korea +
Syria +
Viet Nam +
39
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
RECORDED DEATH SENTENCES IN 2022
China 1,000s
Egypt 538
Bangladesh 169+
India 165
Pakistan 127+
Indonesia 112+
Thailand 104
Viet Nam 102+
Kenya 79
Yemen 78+
Nigeria 77+
Democratic Republic
of the Congo 76+
Algeria 54
Iraq 41+
Myanmar 37+
State of Palestine 28
Tunisia 26+
USA 21
Libya 18+
Kuwait 16+
Malaysia 16+
Saudi Arabia 12+
Tanzania 11
Somalia 10+
Gambia 9
Mali 8+
Sri Lanka 8+
Ghana 7
Laos 5+
Mauritania 5+
Trinidad and Tobago 5+
Singapore 5
Jordan 4+
Niger 4+
South Sudan 4+
Guyana 4
Taiwan 3
Bahrain 2+
Ethiopia 2+
Lebanon 2+
UAE 2+
Zambia 2+
Comoros 2
Sudan 1+
Botswana 1
Maldives 1
South Korea 1
Afghanistan +
Iran +
North Korea +
Qatar +
Syria +
40
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
ANNEX II: ABOLITIONIST AND
RETENTIONIST COUNTRIES
AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022
Close to three quarters of the
countries in the world have now
abolished the death penalty in law
or practice. As of 31 December
2022, the numbers were as
follows:
Abolitionist for all crimes: 112
Abolitionist for ordinary crimes only: 9
Abolitionist in practice: 23
Total abolitionist in law or practice: 144
Retentionist: 55
The following are lists of countries in the four categories: abolitionist for all crimes, abolitionist for
ordinary crimes only, abolitionist in practice and retentionist.
1. ABOLITIONIST FOR ALL CRIMES
Countries whose laws do not provide for the death penalty for any crime:
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Canada, Chad, Central
African Republic, Colombia, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon,
Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar,
Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niue, North
Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra
Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland,
Timor-Leste, Togo, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan,
Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela.
41
DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2022
Amnesty International
2. ABOLITIONIST FOR ORDINARY CRIMES ONLY
Countries whose laws provide for the death penalty only for exceptional crimes such as crimes under
military law or crimes committed in exceptional circumstances:
88
Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Israel, Peru, Zambia.
3. ABOLITIONIST IN PRACTICE
Countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes such as murder but can be considered
abolitionist in practice in that they have not executed anyone during the last 10 years or more and are
believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions:
Algeria, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ghana, Grenada, Kenya, Laos, Liberia,
Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco/Western Sahara, Niger, Russia,
89
South Korea, Sri Lanka,
Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tonga, Tunisia.
4. RETENTIONIST
Countries that retain the death penalty for ordinary crimes:
Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize,
Botswana, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Gambia, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine (State of), Qatar, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, South Sudan,
Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of
America, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
88
No executions were recorded in these countries in more than 10 years.
89
Russia introduced a moratorium on executions in August 1996. However, executions were carried out between 1996 and 1999 in the
Chechen Republic.
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ANNEX III: RATIFICATION OF
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
AS OF 31 DECEMBER 2022
The community of nations has adopted four international treaties providing for the abolition of the death
penalty. One is of worldwide scope; three are regional.
Below are short descriptions of the four treaties, a list of states parties to the treaties and lists of countries
which have signed but not ratied the treaties, as of 31 December 2022. States may become states parties
to international treaties either by acceding to them or by ratifying them. Signature indicates an intention to
become a party at a later date through ratication. States are bound under international law to respect the
provisions of treaties to which they are a party, and to do nothing to defeat the object and purpose of treaties
which they have signed.
SECOND OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON
CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS, AIMING AT THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH
PENALTY
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the
abolition of the death penalty, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1989, is of worldwide scope. It
provides for the total abolition of the death penalty but allows states parties to retain the death penalty
in time of war if they make a reservation to that effect at the time of ratifying or acceding to the Protocol.
Any state which is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can become a party
to the Protocol.
States parties: Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium,
Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras,
Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Norway, Palestine (State
of), Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Sao Tome and
Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste,
Togo, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela (total: 90).
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PROTOCOL TO THE AMERICAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS TO
ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY
The Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty, adopted by
the General Assembly of the Organization of American States in 1990, provides for the total abolition
of the death penalty but allows states parties to retain the death penalty in wartime if they make a
reservation to that effect at the time of ratifying or acceding to the Protocol. Any state party to the
American Convention on Human Rights can become a party to the Protocol.
States parties: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela (total: 13).
PROTOCOL NO. 6 TO THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS,
CONCERNING THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY
90
Protocol No. 6 to the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights), concerning the abolition of the death penalty,
adopted by the Council of Europe in 1983, provides for the abolition of the death penalty in peacetime;
states parties may retain the death penalty for crimes “in time of war or of imminent threat of war”. Any
state party to the European Convention on Human Rights can become a party to the Protocol.
States parties: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro,
Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom (total: 46).
PROTOCOL NO. 13 TO THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN
RIGHTS, CONCERNING THE ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY
IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
Protocol No. 13 to the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights), concerning the abolition of the death penalty in
all circumstances, adopted by the Council of Europe in 2002, provides for the abolition of the death
penalty in all circumstances, including in time of war or of imminent threat of war. Any state party to the
European Convention on Human Rights can become a party to the Protocol.
States parties: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro,
Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom (total: 44).
Signed but not ratied: Armenia (total: 1)
90
Russia ceased to be a signatory to the treaty on 16 September 2022.
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ANNEX IV: VOTING RESULTS
OF UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
RESOLUTION 77/222
ADOPTED ON 15 DECEMBER 2022
The UN General Assembly adopted its eighth resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
The resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority of UN member states.
Co-sponsors of UN General Assembly resolution 77/222, adopted on 15 December 2022
Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, , Bolivia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte
d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia,
Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mexico,
Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North
Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Togo, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay,
Venezuela (total: 79).
Votes in favour – Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde,
Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece,
Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan,
Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova,
Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland,
Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United
Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, (total: 125).
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Votes against –Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana,
Brunei Darussalam, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Ethiopia, Grenada,
India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saint
Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sudan, Syria,
Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, United States of America, Yemen (total: 37).
Abstentions – Belarus, Burundi, Cameroon, Cuba, Eswatini, Gabon, Guyana, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos,
Lesotho, Mauritania, Morocco/Western Sahara, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, Thailand,
United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe (total: 22).
Not present – Afghanistan, Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South
Sudan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (total: 9).
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Amnesty International
Amnesty International's monitoring of the global use of the death penalty in 2022
revealed an increase of 53% in recorded executions (excluding China). Twenty
countries are known to have executed a total of 883 people compared to 579 in
18 countries in 2021.
This global spike in known executions was mainly due to a signicant increase
recorded in the Middle East and North Africa region, where gures rose by 59%
from 520 in 2021 to 825 in 2022. Of these, 70% were carried out in Iran, where
recorded executions increased by 83% from 314 in 2021 to 576 in 2022, and
24% in Saudi Arabia, where recorded executions tripled from 65 in 2021 to 196
in 2022.
Executions resumed in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Myanmar, Palestine (State of) and
Singapore. While notable increases compared to 2021 were recorded in Iran.
Kuwait. Myanmar, Palestine (State of), Saudi Arabia, Singapore and USA, secrecy
and restrictive practices in China, North, Korea and Viet Nam, among other
states, continued to impair accurate assessments of the use of the death penalty.
While international human rights law prohibits the use of the death penalty for
crimes that do not meet the threshold of "most serious crimes" (crimes involving
intentional killing), at least four countries - China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and
Singapore - carried out executions for drug-related offences: 325 such executions
were recorded. more than double the number recorded in 2021. In Iran this
constituted 44% (255 people) of all known executions in the countrv.
However, the world made remarkable progress towards abolition. In 2022, the
number of fully abolitionist countries reached 112. while nine were abolitionist for
ordinary crimes only and a further 23 were abolitionist in practice. Six countries
abolished the death penalty either fully or partially.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception.
INDEX: ACT 50/6548/2023
MAY 2023
ENGLISH
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AND EXECUTIONS
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