Death Penalty
The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman punishment and a violation of human rights.
Amnesty International firmly opposes the death penalty, considering it a cruel punishment and a violation of the right to life. In 2024, there was an increase in executions globally, while many countries continue to abolish this practice.
A worrying increase in executions
In 2024, Amnesty International recorded a 32% increase in executions compared to the previous year, with 1,518 executions in 15 countries. This alarming figure highlights the urgent need to intensify efforts towards universal abolition of capital punishment. China remains the country with the highest number of executions, although the true extent remains unknown.
Towards global abolition
Despite the increase in executions in some countries, the global trend is towards abolition. More than three-quarters of countries in the world have abolished the death penalty by law or in practice. Amnesty International continues to work towards a world without capital punishment, unconditionally opposing this practice.
Inequalities and capital punishment
The death penalty disproportionately affects people from economically disadvantaged or marginalized backgrounds. This disparity makes capital punishment even more inequitable and unjust, underscoring the need for a fair and impartial justice system for all.
Death sentences around the world
In 2024, at least 2,087 new death sentences were handed down in 46 countries. By the end of 2024, over 28,085 people were under death sentence globally. These figures highlight the widespread reach of capital punishment and the urgent need for concrete action to protect human rights.
What you can do
- Sign appeals for people at risk of execution
- Support Amnesty International's campaign against the death penalty
- Inform and raise awareness among your friends and family about the issue of capital punishment
Save Ahmad from the death penalty
Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali, arbitrarily detained in Iran since 2016, is at grave risk of execution after exhausting all legal avenues to overturn his death sentence. A lecturer and researcher in disaster medicine and humanitarian assistance, he has taught at universities in Belgium, Italy, and Sweden.
Ahmadreza Djalali was arbitrarily arrested on 25 April 2016 while on a business trip to Iran and accused of espionage. He has suffered multiple violations of his fundamental rights, including prolonged solitary confinement, denial of access to a lawyer, torture and other ill-treatment, including death threats, in order to extort a "confession" from him. Ahmadreza Djalali has consistently denied the charges against him and maintains that they were fabricated by the authorities. Throughout 2025, his health deteriorated further, including following a heart attack in early May 2025, while the authorities continued to deny him adequate medical care. In October 2017, a revolutionary court sentenced him to death for "corruption on earth" (efsad-e fel-arz) following a grossly unfair trial based on unfounded accusations of collaboration and communication with Israel, which he has repeatedly denied.
What Amnesty asks
Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to overturn Ahmadreza Djalali's death sentence and death penalty, imposed following a grossly unfair trial, and to release him immediately. It further calls for any plans for his execution to be halted and, pending his release, to ensure him regular and immediate access to family, lawyers, adequate medical care and protection from further torture and ill-treatment.
Content reported from amnesty.it.
Take action now
Join the campaign with your Amnesty group in Lazio.
AI-generated content verified against Amnesty International's official sources. Last updated: 2026-04-19
