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
- SEPTEMBER 17, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
an Iranian man was hanged in public in the volatile town of Ahwaz
an Iranian man was hanged in public in the volatile town of Ahwaz
SEPTEMBER 17, 2005DEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONVICTED ARMED ROBBER HANGED PUBLICLY
an Iranian convicted of armed robbery was hanged in public in the southwestern city of Ahvaz.
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. YOUTH HANGED IN CENTRAL IRAN PRISON
a young Iranian man was hanged in a penitentiary centre in the city of Yazd, central Iran.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2005Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. TWO SAUDIS EXECUTED FOR MURDER
two Saudis convicted of murder were beheaded by the sword in the conservative Muslim kingdom, the interior ministry announced.
SEPTEMBER 15, 2005JapanDEATH PENALTYJAPAN. INMATE FIRST OF YEAR TO BE HANGED
a man convicted of robbing, raping and killing two women in the 1980s was executed, Japan's first hanging of the year.
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. FAMILY OF 6 TO BE EXECUTED
Manzoor Ahmad and his son Muhammad Ishaq, Ghulam Mustafa also known as Papoo, Muhammad Ilyas, Muhammad Anwar and Javed Obal, all members of the same family, were due to be executed in prison within the day’s end for shooting three of their relatives to de
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Arshad Mughal alias Papu was hanged at Kotlakhpat Jail in front of a magistrate and jail authorities.
Arshad Mughal alias Papu was hanged at Kotlakhpat Jail in front of a magistrate and jail authorities.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. CONVICTED MURDERER HANGED
Ali Fesahat, an Iranian man convicted of murder, was hanged in a prison in the central province of Yazd, for murdering 22-year-old Ahmad Kheyrandish.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTYTEXAS, USA. FRANCES NEWTON EXECUTED IN HUNTSVILLE
Frances Newton, a woman convicted of killing her family, became the first black female to be executed in Texas since before the US Civil War after last-minute legal and political pleas to save her failed.
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. THREE MEN EXECUTED FOR ROBBERY AND MURDER OF CAB DRIVERS
China executed three migrant workers in Beijing for robbing taxi drivers and killing four of them, state media reported.
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. BEAUTY PRODUCTS FROM THE SKIN OF EXECUTED PRISONERS
a Chinese cosmetics company was using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe, an investigation by the UK daily Guardian discovered.
SEPTEMBER 12, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. YOUNG MAN HANGED IN PUBLIC FOR TEENAGE CRIME
a young man was hanged in public in the southern town of Kazeroun, in Fars Province, for a crime he had committed when he was a minor.
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. PRESIDENT EXAMINING CASE OF INDIAN NATIONAL ON DEATH ROW SARABJIT SINGH
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said he had taken no decision yet on the fate of an Indian national sentenced to hang on spying and bombing charges but added he was examining the case
SEPTEMBER 10, 2005Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. SAUDI NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR MURDER
Hamad al-Rubli, a Saudi convicted of murder, was beheaded by the sword in Arar on the border with Iraq, the Saudi interior ministry announced.
SEPTEMBER 9, 2005ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA. TEACHER EXECUTED FOR RAPING 32 SCHOOL GIRLS
Lu Lei, a teacher convicted of raping 32 girls under the age of 14, was executed in southwest China a day before the country marked its annual Teacher's Day.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. KURDISH ACTIVIST HANGED IN PRISON
Mohammad Panj-Bini and Esmail Mohammadi, twoiranian Kurdish activists, were hanged in a prison in the town of Orumieh, northwest Iran, for their opposition to the Iranian regime, opposition websites reported.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
PAKISTAN. INDIAN NATIONAL ON DEATH ROW IN PAKISTAN TO BE SPARED, REPORT
Islamabad assured New Delhi that Sarabjit Singh, an Indian sentenced to be hanged in Pakistan on bombing and spying charges, would be reprieved, the Hindu newspaper said.
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2005DEATH PENALTY
IRAN. CONVICTED MURDER HANGED
Houshang Bameri, an Iranian man convicted of murder and armed robbery was hanged in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2005IranDEATH PENALTYIRAN. ISMAYIL MUHEMEDI EXECUTED BY THE IRANIAN AUTHORITIES
the Iranian authorities’ executed the Kurdish political prisoner Ismayil Muhemedi, his brother was reported as telling local media.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2005Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. SAUDI MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER BEHEADED BY SWORD
Saudi Arabia executed Jameel bin Abdullah bin Safar al-Fahmy, a Saudi man convicted of murdering a compatriot after a feud.
- SEPTEMBER 1, 2005UzbekistanDEATH PENALTY
UZBEKISTAN. AMNESTY URGES GOVERNMENT TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International criticized Uzbekistan for putting off its intended abolition of the death penalty until 2008.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2005IraqDEATH PENALTYIRAQ. FIRST POST-SADDAM EXECUTIONS
Iraq executed three convicted murderers, the first time the government has carried out the death penalty since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, government spokesman Laith Kubba said.
- AUGUST 31, 2005MissouriDEATH PENALTY
Timothy Johnston, who tried to hold off his execution by...
Timothy Johnston, who tried to hold off his execution by arguing that Missouri's system of lethal injection is unconstitutionally painful was put to death early today for beating his wife to death in 1989.
- AUGUST 24, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
IRAN. FOUR YOUNG IRANIANS HANGED PUBLICLY
four Iranian men convicted of robbery, kidnapping and rape -- at least one of whom was under the age of 18 -- were hanged publicly in the southern port of Bandar Abbas, the Kayhan newspaper said.
- AUGUST 24, 2005IraqDEATH PENALTY
IRAQ. ANOTHER EXECUTION DUE AS NEW DEATH SENTENCE PASSED
Abed Saleh al-Issawi, an Iraqi man convicted of murder, was sentenced to death in Iraq's fourth scheduled execution since authorities reinstated capital punishment.
- AUGUST 24, 2005IranDEATH PENALTY
a seventeen-year-old musician in Iran is facing imminent execution in public
a seventeen-year-old musician in Iran is facing imminent execution in public after his death sentence was upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court, Etemaad daily reported.
- AUGUST 24, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Muhammad Asghar, Ahmad Sher and Falak Sher were hanged in Pakistan for murder.
Muhammad Asghar, Ahmad Sher and Falak Sher were hanged in Pakistan for murder.
- AUGUST 24, 2005PakistanDEATH PENALTY
Abdul Ghaffar was hanged in Pakistan for murder.
Abdul Ghaffar was hanged in Pakistan for murder.
- AUGUST 23, 2005AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
AFGHANISTAN. TWO MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERER
a lower court in Kabul, Afghanistan, sentenced to death two men charged with the murder of a hire car driver. Sala Khan and Mohammad Juma, from Alishang district of the eastern Laghman province, were convicted by the Ninth District's court of killing Abdu
AUGUST 22, 2005TexasDEATH PENALTYRobert Alan Shields, who was 19 when he was arrested for fatally stabbing a woman at her home...
Robert Alan Shields, who was 19 when he was arrested for fatally stabbing a woman at her home, was executed this evening inside the Huntsville "Walls" Unit.