Executions
Archive theme
An execution is the act by which a state puts a condemned person to death. Hands Off Cain records the cases documented by public sources: press agencies, local newspapers, human rights organisations, official statements. The figure that results is a confirmed minimum, not an estimate of the real total: several states publish no data on executions, and in some countries they are not announced even to the families.
This page collects the news on the executions recorded by the association. The totals by country and by year are in the database.
Latest news
- JUNE 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights severely criticises Iran
Michelle Bachelet at a session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva
JUNE 21, 2021YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: HOUTHI MILITANTS PUBLICLY EXECUTE 3 FOR RAPE AND MURDER
Hundreds of people gathered in Yemen's rebel-held capital on 16 June 2021 to watch the execution of three men -- two convicted of child rape and murder, and one of killing his daughters.
JUNE 21, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Habib Rezaei executed in Salmas Prison on June 21
For murder
JUNE 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ramin Saadat-Beiglou executed in Qazvin Prison on June 20
For murder
JUNE 19, 2021NigeriaDEATH PENALTYNIGERIA: 22-YEAR-OLD MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ARMED ROBBERY IN EKITI
A High Court in Ado Ekiti on 17 June 2021 sentenced a 22-year-old man, Kehinde Olajide, to death by hanging for armed robbery.
JUNE 17, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: YOUNG MAN ACCUSED OF PARTICIPATING IN REBELLION EXECUTED
Saudi Arabia on 15 June 2021 executed a young man who was convicted on charges stemming from his alleged participation in an anti-government rebellion by minority Shiites.
JUNE 16, 2021North CarolinaDEATH PENALTYUSA - South Carolina. Supreme Court Halts Executions of Brad Sigmon and Freddie Owens
Scheduled for June 16 and 25
JUNE 15, 2021AlabamaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Alabama. "Almost ready to execute with nitrogen"
Declares the Attorney General
JUNE 14, 2021BelarusDEATH PENALTYBELARUS: DEATH ROW PRISONER VIKTAR PAULAU ‘MOST LIKELY EXECUTED’, CONVICT’S SISTER SAID
Death row inmate Viktar Paulau was ‘most likely executed’, the convict’s sister Raisa told Andrey Paluda, coordinator of the campaign ‘Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus’.
JUNE 14, 2021BotswanaDEATH PENALTYBOTSWANA: MAN EXECUTED OVER 2011 MURDERS OF HIS GIRLFRIEND AND CHILD
Botswana on 11 June 2021 carried out the execution of a man who murdered his girlfriend and young son in 2011.
JUNE 13, 2021EthiopiaDEATH PENALTYETHIOPIA: BOY PUBLICLY EXECUTED IN OROMIA
Ethiopian government forces summarily executed a 17-year-old boy in Ethiopia’s Oromia region in broad daylight, Human Rights Watch said on 10 June 2021.
JUNE 9, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Raymond Riles resentenced to life
After 45 years on death row
JUNE 9, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTYZAMBIA: HIGH COURT SENTENCES TEACHER WHO SHOT DEAD HIS EX-WIFE TO DEATH
The Lusaka High Court has sentenced Kenneth Makina, a teacher, to death by hanging for the murder of his ex-wife Charity Jikubi, The Mast reported on 9 June 2021.
JUNE 9, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Unidentified man hanged on June 9
In Rajai Shahr Prison, for murder
JUNE 7, 2021North KoreaDEATH PENALTYNORTH KOREA: OFFICIALS SCARED AFTER SISTER OF KIM JONG UN HAS THEIR COLLEAGUES EXECUTED
Government officials in North Korea are living in fear after a series of executions of their colleagues on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, two officials told RFA.
JUNE 6, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Shahin Mirkhani executed in Shirvan Prison on June 6
For drugs
JUNE 2, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ebrahim Ahmadi executed on 2 June in Tabriz Prison
For murder
MAY 31, 2021North KoreaDEATH PENALTYNORTH KOREA: MAN EXECUTED FOR ILLEGALLY SELLING CDS AND USBS WITH S. KOREAN MOVIES, DRAMAS AND MUSIC VIDEOS
In late April, North Korean authorities publicly executed a man living in Wonsan (Gangwon Province) who illegally sold CDs and USBs filled with South Korean movies, dramas, and music videos.
MAY 30, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Yousef and Shamsi Pirostovan (Pir-Ostovan) executed in Qazvin Prison on May 30
118th woman executed during Rouhani’s tenure
MAY 29, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - 6 Baluch men executed in Birjand prison have been identified
Probably hanged on May 25, not on April 24
- MAY 28, 2021ZimbabweDEATH PENALTY
ZIMBABWE UNVEILS SCULPTURE OF WOMAN HANGED FOR OPPOSING COLONIAL RULE
Zimbabwe’s president on 25 May 2021 unveiled a towering bronze statue in the centre of Harare, the capital, honouring a 19th-century black anti-colonialist heroine who was hanged for leading a rebellion against white occupation.
MAY 28, 2021ArizonaDEATH PENALTYUSA - Arizona. Gas chamber refurbished
Arizona plans to use hydrogen cyanide, the gas used by the Nazis at Auschwitz
MAY 24, 2021ZambiaDEATH PENALTYZAMBIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH BY HANGING FOR DEFILING AND KILLING OWN DAUGHTER
A 33-year-old man of Chipili district who allegedly defiled and murdered his three-day old daughter was sentenced to death on 21 May 2021.
MAY 24, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Kianoosh Ali-Moradi and Ahmad Qodrati executed at Isfahan Prison
On narcotic related charges
- MAY 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN - Saleh Shariati, Juvenile Offender Sentenced to Death, Acquitted in Court
A "qassameh" case
MAY 23, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A woman, Kobra Fatemi, hanged in Yazd Prison on May 23
117th woman executed during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure
MAY 20, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Younes and Abdullah Totazehi executed in Birjand Prison
For drugs
MAY 19, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - Ghassem B. executed in Mashhad Prison on May 19
For sex crimes
MAY 19, 2021TexasDEATH PENALTYUSA - Texas. Quintin Jones was executed
without media witnesses
MAY 19, 2021IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN - A man, only identified as Sajad, executed in Mashhad Prison on May 19
For murder