According to Amnesty International, the number of judicial executions last year reached its highest level in five years. In its report on the global use of the death penalty, published on Tuesday, the human rights organization documents at least 2022 executions in 883 countries for 20.

In addition, according to this information, there are thousands of executions in China, "which are kept under lock and key," as Amnesty announced on Tuesday. Six countries abolished the death penalty in whole or in part last year.

According to the available documentation, the increase is mainly due to developments in the Middle East and North Africa. The number of recorded executions in Iran has risen from 314 in 2021 to 576 in 2022. In Saudi Arabia, the number tripled from 65 (2021) to 196 last year.

This is the highest figure recorded by Amnesty for the country in 30 years. Beyond this region, it is worrying that more and more people are being executed in connection with drug offences. This number has almost doubled compared to the previous year.