Amnesty International said China topped on executions in 2016, despite the number of executions worldwide dropped by 37 percent. In its 2016 Global review of the death penalty published today, Amnesty said, China executed more people than all other countries in the world put together. The report said, it is difficult to get a clear number as Beijing classifies most information related to the death penalty as “state secrets”.
The agency said it believes that China executed thousands each year. Excluding China, states around the world executed 1,032 people in 2016, according to Amnesty’s records. Iran executed at least 567 people alone, accounting for 66 percent of all the confirmed executions in the region. Saudi Arabia carried out at least 154 executions while Pakistan executed more than 87 persons in 2016.
