Death sentences
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A death sentence is not the same thing as an execution: years can pass between the two, and the sentence may be overturned on appeal, commuted, or never carried out. Counting them separately measures two different things: how far a state resorts to capital punishment, and how far it actually applies it.
This page collects the news on death sentences handed down around the world, on the later stages of appeal, and on the sentences upheld or overturned. Executions have a page of their own.
Latest news
JANUARY 17, 2022TunisiaDEATH PENALTYTUNISIA: NINE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING ARMY SERGEANT
A Tunisian court has sentenced to death nine militants accused of having beheaded a soldier in 2016, a murder claimed by the Daesh group, media reported on 14 January 2022.
JANUARY 17, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: FIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ABDUCTION CASE IN GILGIT
Gilgit anti-terrorism court on 13 Janury 2022 sentenced five accused to death for kidnapping and torturing a youth and posting his obscene videos on social media.
JANUARY 13, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER 2021 JOHAR TOWN EXPLOSION
A pakistani anti-terrorism court on 12 January 2022 sentenced four men to death for their involvement in a car bombing last year that killed four people near the residence of Jamat ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed in Johar Town.
JANUARY 13, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Jafar Salehi, Abdolrahim Sargolzayi and Shahin Khosravi executed in Isfahan
On January 13
- JANUARY 12, 2022United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UAE: TWO FILIPINO NATIONALS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SELLING DRUGS OVER WHATSAPP
The Criminal Court of Abu Dhabi has sentenced two Filipino nationals to death for the crime of possession and dealing in narcotics and psychotropic substances, Khaleej Times reported on 4 January 2022.
JANUARY 12, 2022Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: PRISON CHIEF GETS DEATH PENALTY FOR MASSACRE
A top Sri Lankan prison official was sentenced to death on 12 January 2022 over the killing of 27 inmates in an execution-style massacre that attracted international condemnation.
JANUARY 12, 2022OklahomaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Oklahoma. Execution doctor paid $15,000 each time death penalty carried out
JANUARY 11, 2022EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MAN WHO BEHEADED ANOTHER IN ISMAILIA SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER GRAND MUFTI'S ADVISE SOUGHT
Ismailia Criminal Court on 5 January 2022 sentenced to death Abdel Rahman Nazmy, known as “Dabour” over charges of brutally murdering a citizen and attempting to kill two others in a crowded street in Ismailia.
JANUARY 11, 2022PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: CHRISTIAN MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH ON BLASPHEMY CHARGES
A Christian man on 6 January 2022 was sentenced to death in Pakistan a decade after he was charged with blasphemy.
JANUARY 11, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Farhang and Yasser Aliollahi executed in Zanjan Prison on January 11
For drugs
JANUARY 10, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Juvenile Offender Mostafa Emdadi on Death Row
JANUARY 9, 2022IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Mohammad Javad Vafaei, International Call To Save His Life
Political Prisoner Sentenced to Death
DECEMBER 31, 2021DEATH PENALTYUSA - Death Penalty Information Center: Year End Report 2021
Virginia abolishes, 11 executions, 19 new death sentences
DECEMBER 30, 2021DEATH PENALTYIRAN - Unnamed man executed in Yasuj on December 30
DECEMBER 29, 2021ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO THREW CHILDREN OUT WINDOW AND GIRLFRIEND WHO INSTIGATED THE MURDERS
A couple from western China’s Chongqing municipality were both sentenced to death on 28 December 2021 for conspiring to kill the man’s two young children from a previous marriage so they could start a new family.
DECEMBER 29, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: 4 GANG MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ARMED ROBBERY IN OGUN
An Abeokuta High Court on 24 December 2021 sentenced four gang members to death by hanging for armed robbery.
DECEMBER 29, 2021IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ: THREE PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TERROR CHARGES
An Iraqi criminal court on 23 December 2021 handed death sentences to three people accused of having a hand in a terrorist bomb attack that targeted southeastern Iraq earlier this month, the country’s Supreme Judicial Council announced.
DECEMBER 27, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 13 GET DEATH SENTENCE FOR MURDER OF BRAHMANBARIA AWAMI LEAGUE LEADER
A Dhaka court on 26 December 2021 sentenced 13 people to death in a case filed over the murder of a local Awami League leader in 2016.
DECEMBER 21, 2021Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTYMYANMAR: MORE THAN 90 SENTENCED TO DEATH BY MILITARY COURTS
More than 90 people have been sentenced to death by military courts in Myanmar’s Yangon region since the country’s army overthrew civilian rule in a Feb. 1 coup, according to reports in Myanmar’s junta-controlled media.
DECEMBER 21, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ardavan Falahvand and Hossein Mirakarami executed in Khorramabad on December 21
At least 360 executions il 2021
- DECEMBER 20, 2021United Arab EmiratesDEATH PENALTY
UAE: DRUG DEALER SENTENCED TO DEATH BY ABU DHABI COURT
The Criminal Court of Abu Dhabi has sentenced a Pakistani expatriate to death for possessing narcotic and psychotropic substances with the intention of promoting them, Gulf News reported on 20 December 2021.
- DECEMBER 19, 2021KuwaitDEATH PENALTY
KUWAIT: ETHIOPIAN WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING INDIAN MAN
The Criminal Department of the High Court of Kuwait, headed by Counselor Abdullah Al-Othman, sentenced to
- DECEMBER 19, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Heydar Ghorbani executed in Sanandaj on December 19.
Kurdish political prisoner
DECEMBER 16, 2021PakistanDEATH PENALTYPAKISTAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
A Taxila court on 13 December 2021 sentenced a man to death for murdering a former councillor during a reconciliation meeting in Mohallah Warrian in Taxila police area in August 2019.
DECEMBER 15, 2021BangladeshDEATH PENALTYBANGLADESH: 8 GET DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER OF SOLDIER IN JHENAIDAH
A Khulna tribunal on 15 december 2021 sentenced eight people to death for the murder of a soldier in Jhenaidah.
DECEMBER 15, 2021MalaysiaDEATH PENALTYMALAYSIA: 4 NIGERIANS CHARGED WITH DRUG TRAFFICKING SPARED THE GALLOWS
Four Nigerians, including two former students, on 13 December 2021 escaped the gallows in two separate appeals before the Court of Appeal for drug trafficking.
DECEMBER 14, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: CABINET NOD TO AMEND CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ON DEATH SENTENCE FOR MINORS
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to amend Section 281 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to remove any uncertainty over not pronouncing the death sentence on any minor.
- DECEMBER 14, 2021FloridaDEATH PENALTY
USA - Florida. Cristian Cruz re-sentenced to death.
DECEMBER 13, 2021Sri LankaDEATH PENALTYSRI LANKA: KALUTARA HIGH COURT GIVES DEATH SENTENCE TO FIVE PERSONS
The Kalutara High Court on 13 December 2021 sentenced five persons to death.
DECEMBER 13, 2021EgyptDEATH PENALTYEGYPT: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STREET BEHEADING
An Egyptian court on 9 December 2021 sentenced a man to death on charges of slaughtering another on the street and parading his head before he was overpowered in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, local media reported.