China executed most people in 2016: Amnesty International

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, April 12: China has executed more people than the rest of the world put together last year, says the human rights group Amnesty International.

Though the exact number of people executed in China is a highly guarded state secret, China still remained the the world’s top executioner.

“China’s horrifying use of the death penalty remains one of the country’s deadly secrets, as the authorities continue to execute thousands of people each year,” Amnesty International said in its 2016 global review of the death penalty.

Despite a significant dip by 37% in executions across the world in 2016 in comparison to 2015, the practice still remains staggeringly high in China which alone executed more people than the rest of the world combined.

According to the Amnesty report, China tops list of countries with the most active death penalty, followed by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.

The rights group recorded that at least 1,032 people were executed in 23 countries in 2016, while 1,634 people were executed in 25 countries worldwide in 2015, a surge unmatched since 1989.

The rights group further disclosed that the majority of the people who were executed in China were  farmers, unemployed and migrant workers.