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
- NOVEMBER 3, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The United Committee for the Abolition of the Death...
The United Committee for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, a Hong Kong-based group, launched a signature campaign along with religious and human rights organisations in Italy, Australia, France, the US and Taiwan
- NOVEMBER 1, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Another 17 people have been executed on the mainland...
Another 17 people have been executed on the mainland as part of a crackdown on crime ahead of the crucial Communist Party meeting congress
- NOVEMBER 1, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded two Saudi men convicted of murder,...
Saudi Arabia beheaded two Saudi men convicted of murder, the official Saudi Press Agency reported
- OCTOBER 31, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A medical student found guilty of kidnapping and murder...
A medical student found guilty of kidnapping and murder was hanged in public in a stadium of northern Iran, Ettelaat newspaper reported
- OCTOBER 31, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Twenty-eight people were executed over a two-day period...
Twenty-eight people were executed over a two-day period for murder and other violent crimes after sentencing rallies in two mainland Chinese cities
- OCTOBER 30, 2002DenmarkDEATH PENALTY
Akhmed Zakayev, one of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov's...
Akhmed Zakayev, one of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov's closest associates, was arrested on October 26 in Denmark after Moscow accused him of involvement in the theater siege and other "terror attacks
- OCTOBER 30, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Akhmed Zakayev, one of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov's...
Akhmed Zakayev, one of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov's closest associates, was arrested on October 26 in Denmark after Moscow accused him of involvement in the theater siege and other "terror attacks
- OCTOBER 30, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Three Afghans convicted of murder, armed robbery, "seducing...
Three Afghans convicted of murder, armed robbery, "seducing children" and creating public disorder were hanged publicly in the Islamic republic of Iran's city of Qom, newspapers reported
- OCTOBER 30, 2002AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
Three Afghans convicted of murder, armed robbery, "seducing...
Three Afghans convicted of murder, armed robbery, "seducing children" and creating public disorder were hanged publicly in the Islamic republic of Iran's city of Qom, newspapers reported
- OCTOBER 28, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed a Palestinian man, identified...
Saudi Arabia executed a Palestinian man, identified as Emad al-Deeb, who burnt his father to death after an argument, the Interior Ministry said
- OCTOBER 28, 2002IraqDEATH PENALTY
Iraq has recently executed six political Iraqi prisoners...
Iraq has recently executed six political Iraqi prisoners suspected of having ties with the Iraqi opposition, a newspaper reported in Kurdish-populated northern Iraq
- OCTOBER 27, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two Iranian men convicted of murder were hanged publicly...
Two Iranian men convicted of murder were hanged publicly in Tehran at dawn, one of them in a park better known as a spot for dining out or hiking, witnesses said
- OCTOBER 25, 2002SingaporeDEATH PENALTY
Syed Abdul Mutalip and Roetikno Shariff were hanged...
Syed Abdul Mutalip and Roetikno Shariff were hanged for drug trafficking
- OCTOBER 24, 2002MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The 539 people sentenced to death by hanging from 1957...
The 539 people sentenced to death by hanging from 1957 until now, including 313 Muslims, were accorded their religious rights before and after the sentence was carried out, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Zainal Abidin Zin said
- OCTOBER 22, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A special UN human rights envoy on an unprecedented...
A special UN human rights envoy on an unprecedented visit to Saudi Arabia held talks with the kingdom's Islamic affairs minister and a top judiciary official
- OCTOBER 21, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
A national traitor, a certain Zhanayev, has been executed...
A national traitor, a certain Zhanayev, has been executed in the village of Tovzeni under a sentence by the Shari'ah court
- OCTOBER 21, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Saudi man and a woman were beheaded for murdering...
A Saudi man and a woman were beheaded for murdering a Saudi man and stealing his money and car, the Interior Ministry said
- OCTOBER 19, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A convicted murderer was hanged inside a prison in...
A convicted murderer was hanged inside a prison in northern city of Sari
- OCTOBER 17, 2002New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
The New Zealand Parliament unanimously passed a motion...
The New Zealand Parliament unanimously passed a motion condemning the sentencing of a Nigerian woman to death by stoning for having sex outside marriage
- OCTOBER 17, 2002Palestinian TerritoriesDEATH PENALTY
A Palestinian security court sentenced a Hamas veteran...
A Palestinian security court sentenced a Hamas veteran to death for helping Israeli intelligence track and kill five fellow members of the Islamic militant group between 1987 and 1995
- OCTOBER 16, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The Iranian newspaper Etemaad website reported that...
The Iranian newspaper Etemaad website reported that five people convicted of murder by Tehran Criminal Court were hanged in Tehran's Qasr Prison
- OCTOBER 15, 2002OhioDEATH PENALTY
If elected governor Tim Hagan would grant clemency...
If elected governor Tim Hagan would grant clemency to any inmate nearing his scheduled execution
- OCTOBER 15, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed Ayman Hazazi a Saudi man for...
Saudi Arabia executed Ayman Hazazi a Saudi man for kidnapping and raping a girl
- OCTOBER 15, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran executed four members of a Kurdish opposition...
Iran executed four members of a Kurdish opposition party in eight days, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) said
- OCTOBER 15, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
A young man convicted of rape was publicly hanged in...
A young man convicted of rape was publicly hanged in Iran's southern city of Ahvaz while his accomplice was to face the same punishment on October 17, Tehran dailies reported
- OCTOBER 13, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Iran has stepped up the number of floggings and executions...
Iran has stepped up the number of floggings and executions and introduced barbaric new punishments, amid accusations that the West is turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in seeking Iranian support for an attack on Iraq, the Telegraph reported
- OCTOBER 10, 2002JordanDEATH PENALTY
Assad Harb was hanged for murder
Assad Harb was hanged for murder
- OCTOBER 10, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
The "Radio Voice of Iran" reported an execution in...
The "Radio Voice of Iran" reported an execution in the western Iranian city of Oroomiah (former Rezai-e)
- OCTOBER 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
Two Afghan armed robbers were hanged in accordance...
Two Afghan armed robbers were hanged in accordance with the verdict of the Islamic Revolution Court in Tehran, the Iranian newspaper Kayhan reported
- OCTOBER 9, 2002IranDEATH PENALTY
An Iranian woman convicted of the murder of her sister-in-law...
An Iranian woman convicted of the murder of her sister-in-law was executed by hanging in the northwestern city of Tabriz, the Qods newspaper said, according to AFP