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DEATH SENTENCES AND EXECUTIONS 2023
Amnesty International
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq were the top three executing countries in the region in 2023. They accounted
for 97% of all recorded executions in the region: Iran (80%), Saudi Arabia (16%) and Iraq (1%).
In Iraq, the authorities carried out the mass execution of 13 people in Nasiriyah Central Prison, without
prior notice, in December.
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These marked a resumption of mass executions in the country.
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Of the 16
executions recorded by Amnesty International, none was carried out in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
In Saudi Arabia, 172 people – six women and 166 men – were executed.
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They were nationals of the
following countries: Saudi Arabia (134); Bangladesh (8); Yemen (8); India (4); Pakistan (4); Bahrain (2);
Egypt (2); Sudan (2); Ethiopia (1); Ghana (1); Jordan (1); Palestine (State of) (1); Philippines (1); Nepal
(1); Unknown Nationality (1); and USA (1). Of these, 105 were for murder; 25 for terrorism-related
offences; 10 for murder and drug-related offences; six for murder and robbery; four for kidnapping/
abduction and rape; three for murder and terrorism-related offences; three for murder, robbery and
drug-related offences; two for drug-related offences; two for murder attempt, drug-related offences
and driving under the effect of alcohol; two for terrorism-related offences and rape; two for rape; one
for armed robbery, rape and murder attempt; one for armed robbery, shooting and murder attempt;
one for kidnapping and murder; one for high, national and military treason; one for military treason; one
for murder attempt, robbery, and drug-related offences; one for murder and illegal relationship with
minor; and one for terrorism-related and drug-related offences. Of the 172 executions, 68 were for qisas
crimes; 52 for ta’zir crimes; 50 for hadd crimes and the category of two were unknown.
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In March, the authorities executed Hussein Abo al-Kheir, a Jordanian man, who had been on death
row in Saudi Arabia since 2015 following an unfair trial in which he was convicted of a drug-related
offence.
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In July, Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court sentencedMohammad al-Ghamdi to death
solely for tweets in which he criticized the Saudi authorities.
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In Iran,
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the authorities intensied their use of the death penalty to instil fear in the population and
tighten their grip on power in the aftermath of the “Women Life Freedom” uprising of September-
December 2022. The 853 recorded executions were carried out across 30 of Iran’s 31 provinces:
Alborz (177), Sistan and Baluchestan (67), Kerman (66), Fars (57), Esfahan (49), West Azerbaijan (46),
Lorestan (42), South Khorasan (42), Hormozgān (35), Khorasan-e Razavi (32), Markazi (28), Hamedan
(25), East Azerbaijan (21), Gilan (19), Kurdistan (18), Kermanshah (18), Ardabil (17), Khuzestan (16),
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“13 Men Suddenly Executed in Iraq as the Country Resumes Mass Executions”, Time, 26 January 2024, https://time.com/6589057/
iraq-mass-executions-capital-punishment/
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This was the rst mass execution recorded by Amnesty International in Iraq since November 2020 when 21 people were executed.
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The number of executions for Saudi Arabia is based on the ofcial announcement by the Ministry of Interior through the Saudi Press
Agency, the ofcial news agency of the Saudi Arabia government.
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In Saudi Arabia, under sharia, there are two categories of crimes: those for which there are xed punishments, hadd and qisas, and
crimes for which there are no xed punishments, ta’zir. Hadd (plural: hudud) are considered to be offences against God, and they have
divinely ordained and xed punishments. For example, under sharia, the death penalty is prescribed as a punishment for several hadd
crimes, such as adultery, highway robbery when it results in loss of life and apostasy. Qisas are crimes against an individual or family.
Punishments are equivalent to the crime committed (retribution in kind). In cases of murder, relatives of the victim can authorize the
death penalty or pardon the offender and accept nancial compensation, known as “blood money” (diyah). Crimes that have no xed
punishments under sharia are referred to as ta’zir crimes. Their punishments are determined by judges who use their discretion to
determine the sentences; judges are not bound by judicial precedent. For example, judges can use their discretion to sentence to death
individuals accused of adultery, even when the evidentiary standards for classifying the crime as hadd are not met.
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Amnesty International, “Saudi Arabia: Execution of Jordanian man reveals ‘callous disregard for human life’” (News story, 13 March
2023), https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/saudi-arabia-execution-of-jordanian-man-reveals-callous-disregard-for-human-
life/
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Amnesty International, “Saudi Arabia: Drop ‘ludicrous’ conviction and death sentence against man convicted over social media posts”
(News story, 31 August 2023), https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/08/saudi-arabia-drop-ludicrous-conviction-and-death-
sentence-against-man-convicted-over-social-media-posts/
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For further information and analysis on the use of the death penalty in Iran in 2023 see: Amnesty International, “Don’t let them kill
us”: Iran’s relentless execution crisis since the 2022 uprising (Index: MDE13/7869/2024), April 2024, https://www.amnesty.org/en/
documents/mde13/7869/2024/en/