Death Penalty

Behnoud's story: a juvenile offender in Iran

'The stories of these cases are very painful'

In this animation from Amnesty and The Guardian, Iranian lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei tells of one particular case that stayed with him.

Behnoud Shojaee was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2006, for a crime he committed when he was 17. Watch his story in the film above.

Iran continues to sentence juvenile offenders to death, and execute for crimes that were committed when the offender was under 18 - a practice strictly prohibited under international law. At least three juvenile offenders were executed in Iran last year. Over the last three years (2008-11), we have counted 145 juvenile offenders to be condemned to Iran's death row.

Executions and death sentences during 2011

Get the full facts and figures in our 2011 report on death sentences and executions

The number of countries around the world using the death penalty continues to fall: in 2011, 20 countries carried out executions, (down from 23 in 2010). However, the number of executions carried out by state authorities rose from 527 executions in 2010, to 676 in 2011.

We recorded a steep increase in executions in the Middle East, with at least 558 executions in eight countries. 99% of all confirmed executions in the region last year took place in four countries: Iran (360), Iraq (68), Saudi Arabia (82) and Yemen (41). However, these figures do not include Libya and Syria, where extrajudicial executions have been widely reported during the conflict and unrest of the past year, and the continuing violence makes it impossible to monitor use of the death penalty.

Our report also excludes statistics for the world's biggest executioner, China, where thousands are believed to be shot or lethally injected by the government every year, yet the details remain a state secret.

Japan resumes executions, after nearly two year hiatus

Tomoyuki Furusawa, Yasuaki Uwabe and Yasutoshi Matsuda were all hanged hours after Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa consented for the three prisoners to be executed. Take action

We are horrified that Japan has bucked international trend, and chosen to restart executions after nearly two years of not executing. 2011 was the first year in 19 that the country had not executed. This marks a distressing shift in policy. Please use our online form to write to Japan's Justice Minister and urge that he does not sign any more execution warrants.

Take action

	Hakamada Iwao 76 year-old Hakamada is the world's longest-serving known death row inmate. Like many on Japan's death row, his confinement and treatment have resulted in severe mental health problems. We are concerned that as Japan resumes executing its prisoners, he is at immediate risk. Act now
	Saudi man risks execution after tweet Hamza Kashgari may be charged with apostasy (giving up one's religious beliefs) - a crime punishable by death - for remarks he made on Twitter, which some clerics deemed to insult the Prophet Mohammed. Act now
	Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani Ashtiani, a 44-year-old Iranian woman, was sentenced to death for adultery in 2006. After international outrage, her prescribed punishment of stoning was halted. However, recent reports suggest that she could be executed by hanging at any time. Act now

More death penalty news

Storify: reflecting on death penalty news in 2011 December 2011

In a year when the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia took on international significance, but Idaho chose to resume capital punishment; when the pro-capital punishment lobby in Britain stepped up, and Iran carried out hundreds of executions for drugs offences, 2011 was a year of ups and downs in our campaign to abolish the death penalty worldwide. Read our Storify

Mongolia takes steps to abolish death penalty Jan 2011
MPs in Mongolia have passed a Bill (by an overwhelming majority) to abolish capital punishment in the country's legislation, following a moratorium on all executions in January 2010. Read more

New strict controls on torture and execution equipment export from Europe Dec 2011
Good news: the European Commission has tightened laws surrounding export of equipment used for torture and capital punishment from Europe. We've been lobbying for these changes for some time. Read more

Idaho resumes executions after 17 years Nov 2011
We're extremely disappointed that Idaho chose to restart executions by putting Paul Rhoades to death with a lethal injection in November 2011. Read full update | Our social media campaign

Troy Davis executed but the fight goes on Sep 2011
Troy spent 20 years on death row in Georgia, USA. He was executed on 22 September 2011. There were many doubts in his case, and he always maintained his innocence. Read our blog

Illinois Senate passes bill to abolish death penalty Mar 2011
Illinois became the 16th US state to ban capital punishment in March 2011, after concluding that a system of capital punishment could never be made error-proof. State Governor Quinn also commuted the sentences of 15 men on death row. Read more