London, 18 May 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Executions around the world in 2025 soared to the highest figure recorded by Amnesty International since 1981, with 2,707 people executed across 17 countries, the human rights organization reported in its latest annual report on the death penalty.

"This alarming spike in the use of the death penalty is due to a small, isolated group of states willing to carry out executions at all costs, despite the continued global trend towards abolition," Amnesty head Agnès Callamard said in a statement published on Monday.

Callamard pointed to China, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Singapore and the United States, saying that "this shameless minority are weaponizing the death penalty to instil fear, crush dissent and show the strength state institutions have over disadvantaged people and marginalized communities."

Amnesty said the rise, which it described as "staggering," was down to a handful of governments determined to rule by fear. It pointed to Iran, where at least 2,159 people were executed, more than double the 2024 figure.

But it also noted that China was the "world's lead executioner," alleging that thousands of executions had been carried out there during the course of 2025.

Other countries highlighted were Saudi Arabia with at least 356, mainly for drug-related offences, the US with 47 executions and Egypt with 23.

In 2025, executions rose by 78% after at least 1,518 executions were recorded in 2024, Amnesty said in its report.

Julia Duchrow, the head of Amnesty in Germany, described execution as "the most extreme form of state violence." The death penalty was inhumane, final and left no room for error, she said

Punitive approaches in the "war on drugs" drove efforts to expand the use of the death penalty, reflected in the fact that 1,257 or 46% of all known executions were recorded for drug-related offences.

Elsewhere, Amnesty noted that Burkina Faso had adopted a draft bill that included reinstating the death penalty for offences such as “high treason,” “terrorism,” and “acts of espionage," while the authorities in Chad had established a commission to review matters related to the death penalty, including its reinstatement, Amnesty said.

But Amnesty also saw progress in abolition attempts. When it started its campaign against the death penalty in 1977, only 16 countries had abolished it. "Today, that number has risen to 113 - more than half the world's countries, while more than two-thirds are abolitionist in law or practice," it said.

"With human rights under threat around the world, millions of people continue to fight against the death penalty each year in a powerful demonstration of our shared humanity, Callamard said.

"Total abolition is possible if we all stand strong against the isolated few. We must keep the flame of abolition burning bright until the world is entirely free from the shadows of the gallows," she said.

Photo: MIA archive