China
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In January, the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court...
- News items in the archive
- 2,785
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
China is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 2,785 news items on China, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
- JULY 31, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Zhang Shuzhen, a woman who killed her gambler husband...
Zhang Shuzhen, a woman who killed her gambler husband before cooking and eating part of his body, was sentenced to death in China
- JULY 26, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Twenty Uighurs aged 15 to 30 were convicted of "separatism"...
Twenty Uighurs aged 15 to 30 were convicted of "separatism" and "manufacture and storage of illegal weapons" by a court in China's Xinjiang region, and one of them had been executed, a court official as well as a Uighur organisation in exile said
- JULY 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Five people were sentenced to death in central China...
Five people were sentenced to death in central China for breaching oil pipelines more than 40 times to steal 450 tones of crude oil, the Xinhua News agency said
- JULY 23, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Yulin City Intermediate People's Court in Guangxi...
The Yulin City Intermediate People's Court in Guangxi province, southern China, convicted 52 people for baby trafficking, sentencing the two ringleaders, Xie Deming and Cui Wenxian, to death in a case that came to light after they were caught transporting
- JULY 23, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Chinese court sentenced two businessmen to death...
A Chinese court sentenced two businessmen to death and gave life sentences to three others accused of murdering a billionaire in eastern China
- JULY 21, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China has executed two separatists from its muslim...
China has executed two separatists from its muslim Uighur ethnic minority and jailed 16 to terms ranging from five years to life on charges of damaging national security
- JULY 20, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four main culprits of a 60-member organized crime ring...
Four main culprits of a 60-member organized crime ring were executed in Shaoyang city, central-south China's Hunan Province
- JULY 19, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai No
The Shanghai No
- JULY 18, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Stung by international criticism, China announced it...
Stung by international criticism, China announced it was holding a retrial of two Nepalese on death row but warned this should not be used as an excuse to target the Chinese judicial system
- JULY 17, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, China, handed...
Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, China, handed Zhu Zhiwei the death sentence with a two-year reprieve for smuggling heroin to Canada via Hong Kong
- JULY 16, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death for hiring a hitman to...
A man was sentenced to death for hiring a hitman to murder his wife in order to profit from an insurance payout
- JULY 16, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
At least seven people were executed in China after...
At least seven people were executed in China after being found guilty of crimes including murder, embezzlement and poisoning, state media reported
- JULY 14, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Yang Fengrui, deputy secretary-general of the National...
Yang Fengrui, deputy secretary-general of the National Narcotics Control Commission, defended China's frequent use of the death penalty against drug traffickers amid stepped-up efforts to control growing narcotics use
- JULY 13, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Muslim has been executed on charges of seeking independence...
A Muslim has been executed on charges of seeking independence for China's Muslim-majority northwestern region of Xinjiang and making explosives, a court official said
- JULY 11, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A female official, in Qingyuan City of south China's...
A female official, in Qingyuan City of south China's Guangdong Province, was sentenced to death on charges of embezzlement
- JULY 9, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A senior banker has been executed and at least eight...
A senior banker has been executed and at least eight bank executives arrested amid reports of loan fraud and other abuses at China's state-run banks, official media reported
- JULY 9, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China executed its first HIV-positive criminal, Ai...
China executed its first HIV-positive criminal, Ai Haiti, a 29-year-old drug addict arrested in 2003 with 382 grams of heroin
- JULY 8, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Purna Maya Shrestha claimed that her Nepali, Ishowri...
Purna Maya Shrestha claimed that her Nepali, Ishowri Shrestha, who was facing a death sentence in China, was innocent
- JULY 8, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Two Hong Kong residents were executed in southern China...
Two Hong Kong residents were executed in southern China for murdering a friend then chopping up his body
- JULY 7, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China is using the global war on terror to justify...
China is using the global war on terror to justify repression of its Uighur community who face torture and execution when forcibly returned from neighbouring countries, Amnesty International said
- JULY 6, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry was taking measures to...
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry was taking measures to ease the sentences passed by Chinese courts on four Kazakh citizens found guilty of committing crimes in China, the director of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry's consular service department, Valikhan Konurbay
- JULY 5, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai No
The Shanghai No
- JULY 2, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the China government sentenced...
It was reported that the China government sentenced to death to two Nepalese nationals and gave another 15 years' imprisonment after convicting them of drug trafficking
- JUNE 29, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced...
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced Hunan Province natives Yang Yan to death with reprieve and Yao Zhiqi to 15 years in imprisonment after convicting them of for drug trafficking
- JUNE 29, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced...
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced Hunan Province natives Yang Yan to death with reprieve and Yao Zhiqi to 15 years in imprisonment after convicting them of for drug trafficking
- JUNE 26, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Some 17 drug traffickers were executed in China's southwestern...
Some 17 drug traffickers were executed in China's southwestern Chongqing and eastern Shanghai municipalities to mark International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Dozens of drug dealers were sentenced to death in a...
Dozens of drug dealers were sentenced to death in a series of drug-related criminal cases across China as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking drew near
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Liu Zhigeng, a Chinese police officer, was given a...
Liu Zhigeng, a Chinese police officer, was given a suspended death sentence for beating a detainee to death and burying his body in secret to avoid discovery
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
six men were executed in China for murder.
six men were executed in China for murder.
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
13 men, Li Hong, Zhang Qingji, Tan Minglin and ten unnamed men, were executed
13 men, Li Hong, Zhang Qingji, Tan Minglin and ten unnamed men, were executed