‘Staggering’ Iran Toll Drives Up Global Executions: Amnesty
PARIS: Iran killed more than 2,150 people last year, Amnesty International said on Monday, a “staggering” increase in recorded executions worldwide to the highest level since 1981.
Amnesty International said it has confirmed that at least 2,707 people will be executed worldwide in 2025. Amnesty International said 2,159 of these cases were in Iran, more than double the figure for 2024.
But the UK-based rights group said that, as in previous years, this number “does not include the thousands of executions” it believes were carried out in China, the world’s most prolific user of the death penalty, due to “state secrecy” of the data.
Amnesty International said the number of at least 2,707 people executed in 2025, including in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Yemen, Singapore and the United States, represents an increase of more than two-thirds on the previous year’s total.
“This trend was strongest in countries where authorities tightened their power by restricting civic space, silencing dissent, and ignoring protections established under international human rights law and standards.”
In particular, the “staggering increase in recorded executions in Iran” came as authorities “intensified their use of the death penalty as a tool of political pressure and control,” especially after the war with Israel in June 2025.
Linked to protests
Following Iran’s January protests and the war against Israel and the United States, executions are being increased again in 2026 on charges linked to protests and membership in banned groups, Amnesty International and other human rights groups said.
The group said the total of 2,159 known executions carried out in Iran in 2025 – a much higher figure than the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO published earlier this year – “constitutes the highest number recorded since 1981” in the country. This was also the highest level globally since that year.
This trend was reflected elsewhere in the region, albeit on a smaller scale.
It was stated that Saudi Arabia carried out at least 356 executions last year, leaving the current record figure of at least 345 for 2024.
Executions in Kuwait have nearly tripled, from six to 17 in 2024.
In Egypt, this number almost doubled from 13 to 23.
It was stated that the annual number in Yemen increased by more than a third, from at least 38 to at least 51.
In the United States, which is the only country in the American continent to carry out executions in 2025, it was stated that the “unprecedented” increase in executions in Florida to 19 brought the national total to 47, the highest figure since 2009.
He added that Singapore authorities carried out 17 executions, the highest number in the country since 2003.
Amnesty International said China’s “state secrecy” regarding its use of the death penalty “suggests the deliberate use of the death penalty to send the message that the state will not tolerate threats to public security or stability.”
“Amnesty International continues to view China as the world’s leading executioner,” the statement said.
