A report issued by Amnesty International stated that the Middle East and North Africa region had ranked first in carrying out death sentences during the past year.
The report said that 4 out of the first five countries carrying out executions in the world are from the Middle East and North Africa region, indicating that Iran, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounted for 88% of the executions carried out globally in 2020, excluding China, which is believed to execute thousands each year, making it the world’s most frequent executioner.
According to the report, Iran has implemented 246 rulings, Egypt 107 rulings, Iraq 45 rulings, and Saudi Arabia 27 rulings, which means that those rulings have tripled in Egypt compared to previous years.
The report noted that the number of executions recorded in the Middle East and North Africa region has decreased by 25%, reaching its lowest level in a decade, from 579 executions in 2019 to 437 in 2020.
The report pointed out that this decrease was achieved, in large part, as a result of a massive 85% decline in the number of executions recorded in Saudi Arabia, and a decrease of more than half in executions in Iraq.
