Countries with close links to the UK and EU continued to occupy the ranks of the world’s most prolific executioners in 2016

<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7PVPcKXWdiBk2aCILt2E2edJA8KO5Rl2_mJ1xlwL6fQ50a64w5CvM91AoXNDXiBRymdPZWjaPvy9nZc2iKrh6IWHWFZ4kJM-S7NGjJMSoNo-oBTJHcmCbYK4TseIaPWlgalMfxBp8Pc/s1600/Iran+The+Execution+Line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The execution line - Iran" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia7PVPcKXWdiBk2aCILt2E2edJA8KO5Rl2_mJ1xlwL6fQ50a64w5CvM91AoXNDXiBRymdPZWjaPvy9nZc2iKrh6IWHWFZ4kJM-S7NGjJMSoNo-oBTJHcmCbYK4TseIaPWlgalMfxBp8Pc/s400/Iran+The+Execution+Line.jpg" title="The execution line - Iran" width="400" /></a></div>Global executions in 2016 - Countries with close links to the UK and EU continued to occupy the ranks of the world’s most prolific executioners in 2016, research by international human rights group Reprieve has found.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Saudi Arabia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/18/at-least-150-people-executed-in-saudi-arabia-for-second-year-in-row" target="_blank">over 150 people were executed</a> for the second year running, including 47 people in one day in January 2016. Among those killed were juveniles and political protestors. Fears remain for the fate of at least three people sentenced to death as children – Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher – who still await beheading.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Pakistan, the authorities continued to execute scores of prisoners from the country’s 8,000-strong death row. A total of 419 prisoners have been hanged since a moratorium on the death penalty was lifted in December 2014. Concerns remained over the strong risk of miscarriages of justice in Pakistan: earlier this year, the Supreme Court found that <a href="http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/pakistan-acquits-two-hanged-men-insane-man-faces-execution/" target="_blank">two men who had been hanged were innocent</a>. Pakistan’s government claims its use of the death penalty is a response to terrorism, but Reprieve’s research found that <a href="http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/94-hangings-pakistan-not-terrorism-cases-new-figures/" target="_blank">94% of prisoners recently hanged in Pakistan had nothing to do with terrorism</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Iran, the government continued to hang hundreds of prisoners, nearly half of whom who were arrested for alleged drug offences. Reprieve continued to raise concerns that <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/eu-funding-could-be-linked-to-mass-executions-in-iran-a7453041.html" target="_blank">international funding for Iran’s anti-narcotics police may contribute to death sentences</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">China continues to keep the number of executions a closely-guarded secret, but is widely believed to remain the world leader, with the death toll estimated in the thousands. The UK this year signed an <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/china-uk-high-level-security-dialogue-official-statement/china-uk-high-level-security-dialogue-communique" target="_blank">agreement</a> to increase cooperation with China on security and crime, leading to potential risks that British assistance could contribute to the death penalty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: justify;">Other countries of concern</h3><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The torture and sentencing to death of political protestors, and juveniles, continued apace in several countries with close ties to the UK.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of particular concern are Bahrain – where several protestors await execution on the basis of forced ‘confessions’ – and Egypt. Reprieve has established that in the last three years, <a href="http://www.reprieve.org.uk/press/egypt-death-sentences-near-2000-amid-fears-irish-student/" target="_blank">the Egyptian judiciary has sentenced 1,857 to death</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition, 2016 saw alarming proposals in Kuwait to <a href="http://www.reprieve.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016_11_16_INT-Letter-to-PM-Theresa-May-about-GCC-summit-as-sent.pdf">lower to 16 the age at which people can be sentenced to death</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Commenting, Maya Foa, a director of Reprieve, said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It is alarming that countries with close links to the UK and EU continued to occupy the ranks of the world’s most prolific executioners in 2016. From Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, to Pakistan, Egypt and Bahrain, we have found children on death row, innocent people hanged, drugs offences dealt with as capital crimes, and torture used to extract false confessions. Countries that oppose executions must do more in 2017 to ensure that their overseas security assistance does not contribute to others states use of the death penalty.”<br /><br /><h3>#1 - China. Executed: Unknown (Est. +1,000)</h3>The number of executions is a state secret, and the executions reported in the media are likely to be a fraction of those that are carried out. China continues to execute more people than any other country in the world.<br /><br /><h3>#2 - Iran. Executed: 534+</h3>The actual number of executions is likely to be higher in Iran, given the government’s underreporting of executions and the holding of secret executions. Reprieve’s research shows that at least 211 of the hangings that took place in 2016 were for drugs offences, in violation of international law.<br /><br /><h3>#3 - Saudi Arabia. Executed: 154</h3>This execution total is close to last year’s record high of 158. Among those executed this year were at least 4 juveniles who were killed as part of a mass execution of 47 people in January. One of them, Ali al-Ribh, was arrested in school, tortured into a false ‘confession’ to protest-related charges, and executed.<br /><br /><h3>#4 - Iraq. Executed: 101+</h3>Ongoing armed conflict makes it impossible to obtain exact figures for Iraq, but Reprieve was able to establish that at least 101 executions took place in 2016. However, based on unconfirmed media reports, the real figure may be more than double this total.<br /><br /><h3>#5 - Pakistan. Executed: 87</h3>According to figures gathered by Reprieve, there had been 87 executions in 2016 as of December 6. This was a decrease since 2015, which saw Pakistan embark on an unprecedented execution spree, and leapfrog Saudi Arabia to become the world’s third most prolific executioner. The country lifted a six-year moratorium on the execution of civilians in December 2014.<br /><br /><h3>#6 - USA. Executed: 20</h3>The most prolific executioner <a href="http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/" target="_blank">among US states</a> was Georgia, which executed 9 people this year. Execution numbers fell to a record low amid growing concerns about the effectiveness of capital punishment. 2016 saw public support for the death penalty fall to under 50%, death sentences drop to a record low and every FDA-approved pharmaceutical company oppose the misuse of medicines in lethal injections, causing many states to put executions on hold.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Figures correct as of 20th December 2016.</i><br /><i><br /></i>➫ For Your Information:<b> </b>Upon reading the above article, Alan Shadrake, author of "<a href="http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.fr/2016/07/once-jolly-hangman-singapore-justice-in.html" target="_blank">Once a Jolly Hangman, Singapore Justice in the Dock</a>", contacted Death Penalty News on December 23, and submitted the following comment: "They forgot to mention Singapore!"<br /><br />Source: Reprieve, December 23, 2016. Reprieve is an international human rights organization.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? 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Countries with close links to the UK and EU continued to occupy the ranks of the world’s most prolific executioners in 2016

Global executions in 2016 - Countries with close links to the UK and EU continued to occupy the ranks of the world’s most prolific execution...

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Egypt Executes ISIS Leader Abel Habara Amid Vengeance Threats

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNxzpjNw13nQBz8lwUsk_9DPN5I4abjDgc_9a3Rm4eg7Ven_laT68N4ZWY7bgJ01VtkYrK0ZoObhqqoflpKcg0Bagq_htpC-2VjvEy38f0A7mg-z_hmmg_OhEgXcZYCfEe2Tcf49i14E/s1600/The+6th+October+Bridge+in+central+Cairo%252C+Egypt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cairo, Egypt" border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUNxzpjNw13nQBz8lwUsk_9DPN5I4abjDgc_9a3Rm4eg7Ven_laT68N4ZWY7bgJ01VtkYrK0ZoObhqqoflpKcg0Bagq_htpC-2VjvEy38f0A7mg-z_hmmg_OhEgXcZYCfEe2Tcf49i14E/s400/The+6th+October+Bridge+in+central+Cairo%252C+Egypt.jpg" title="Cairo, Egypt" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cairo, Egypt</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Egyptian authorities executed a death sentence against Abel Habara, the leader of the ISIS-affiliated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM) group, for his role in the "2nd Rafah Massacre" that killed 25 soldiers in an ambush in North Sinai in August 2013.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Habara was executed after Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ratified the death warrant according to the law.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier, Habara was taken from his cell at the secured Scorpion jail in Cairo to the Court of Cassation. Habara was hanged in the presence of judicial officials.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, Egyptian authorities fear a wave of revenge threats could ignite in retaliation of Habara's execution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mohammed Noureddine, the former assistant to the minister of interior told Asharq Al-Awsat: "Executing the death penalty should eventually be followed by strict security measures and preventive strikes against the organization in north Sinai, to prevent the organization or the family of the terrorist from launching any terrorist acts."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt placed a high-alert security status in all establishments, particularly following last week's explosion that targeted a chapel linked to the Coptic Christian cathedral, leaving several people killed and at least 49 injured, mostly women and children.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Habara received several death penalties in different cases. The most prominent case is related to the "2nd Rafah massacre" of 2013, when Habara was involved in the killing of 25 police recruits in an ambush on a police convoy in the Abu Tawila region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In June 2014, Habara attempted to escape detention while in a transportation vehicle from the police academy to prison.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Separately, Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation announced on Thursday that traces of explosives were found on the remains of the victims of the EgyptAir MS804 plane that crashed on May 19, killing the 66 passengers on board.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A forensic investigation conducted in Egypt issued a report on Thursday concerning the victims of the plane crash. It said traces of explosives were found on some of the victims' body parts. Some officials considered the report an important sign that could uncover the mystery surrounding the causes which made the plane plunge into the Mediterranean Sea.</div><br />Source: aawsat.com, December 17, 2016<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">⚑ | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: <a href="mailto:deathpenaltynews@gmail.com">deathpenaltynews@gmail.com</a>.</div><br /><table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" style="background-color: white; border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px solid rgb(255, 204, 0); color: black; text-align: center; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/WebDPN/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4sspwgGptzvuHVklum5TwxKppRN-lIC5TN8RLZFq_B4ZOtBrX1ssXPNKQ6XpSyQFRJRtVQN45HMkpt3VX0JtOW0TovwxZAurG-AV6gh98IAXo7Ip6QlpkZr9WrM3_m943Mwy-gGxBAY/s1600/Find+us+Facebook.jpg" /></a></div></td> <td><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://twitter.com/WebDPN" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiULIPEaT_P6oIauxAZd17XRRxljesDLS7iIjdQXT7Xct99uHeohx4IYmiAB6S044gTjMDGSy50sL2vDzOyPZ-3vJj9zwcYQ2rgzJh9v1-QDiunKAQtLLLqJ83s38qN3HABxGIC8GsIOD0/s1600/Find+us+twitter.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1427852018"></span><span id="goog_1427852019"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b>Opposed to Capital Punishment? 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Egypt Executes ISIS Leader Abel Habara Amid Vengeance Threats

Cairo, Egypt Egyptian authorities executed a death sentence against Abel Habara, the leader of the ISIS-affiliated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (ABM...

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