China, Iran and U.S. Top World Executioners

[Stone_Spirits]

Published on Tuesday, April 6, 2004 by Reuters

Amnesty: Published on Tuesday, April 6, 2004 by Reuters

Amnesty: China, Iran and U.S. Top World Executioners
by Robert Evans

GENEVA - China, Iran, the United States and Vietnam were the world's top users of the death penalty in 2003, accounting for 84 percent of known executions, human rights body Amnesty International said Tuesday.

More than half of known executions were in China, where the true toll could be more than 10 times higher, according to the British-based Amnesty's annual report.

But during the year, six countries either abolished capital punishment or suspended it, bringing the total who have halted executions to 117 out of a total of 195, the report said.

"This year's figures show that the majority of countries follow an abolitionist path, while others choose to remain on the wrong side of the justice divide," spokeswoman Judit Arenas Licea told a news briefing.

The report said the number of known executions world-wide last year had dropped to 1,146 in a total of 28 countries from 1,526 in 31 countries in 2002. China was known to have executed at least 726, Iran 108, the United States 65 and Vietnam 64, according to the group.

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http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0406-10.htm

[Coventina]

1. Who's the axis of evil again?