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"Similarly, Amnesty was unable to put forward figures for North Korea and Vietnam, countries believed to resort to executions extensively." Amnesty reported that large spikes in
the Middle East, especially Iran, have contributed to the worldwide figures. In fact, Tehran alone accounted for 74 percent of the killings, with Saudi Arabia coming in second. Iran has been
in the midst of a political crisis following the killing of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022, where she was held for not conforming to strict dress codes. Huge protests
erupted in Iran as a result, leading to a violent crackdown from the Iranian regime. Agnes Callamard, Amnesty's secretary general, said in a statement: “The huge spike in recorded
executions was primarily down to Iran. "The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up executions for drug-related offences, further highlighting the
discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalised and impoverished communities." Iran killed 24 women and five people who committed their crimes when they were
children. Many were killed due to drug offences, but others were executed for 'corruption on earth'. Meanwhile, eight men were killed for their role in the anti-regime protests
following the death of Amini. Iran hangs prisoners from cranes in public places to instil fear in the population, and 'sham' trials still take place to create the facade of a fair
justice system. Elsewhere, Somalia's number of executions trebled to 38. The country remains under insurgency from Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab while ISIS also continue to pose a threat.
Executions via shooting were also recorded in Afghanistan, China, North Korea, Palestine, Somalia and Yemen. Meanwhile, lethal injection was used in China, the US and Vietnam. Bangladesh,
Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Singapore and Syria all used hanging, as is seen in Iran. In Saudi Arabia, beheadings remain common practice. In the US, the number of executions jumped from 18 to
24 from 2022-2023.