Source:
Mail and Guardian/AFPAmnesty: At least 19 000 people on death row
Rome, Italy
27 April 2007 01:37
Judicial executions dropped sharply in 2006, but at least 19 000 people remained on death row at the end of the year, Amnesty International said in its annual report published on Friday.
A total of 1 591 people were executed, most of them in China, down from 2 148 in 2005, the London-based rights group said.
Amnesty unveiled the report in Italy, whose government is spearheading a campaign at the United Nations for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty.
(snip)
After China, Iran was in second place with at least 177 executions, Pakistan with at least 82, Iraq and Sudan with at least 65 each and the United States with 53 in 12 states.
The US is the only country in the Americas that has carried out any executions since 2003, while many countries are abolishing the death penalty.
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http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=306063