Africa-Press – Mauritius. A friend sent a video of purported executions of Nigerian drug smugglers in Saudi Arabia. It showed three beheadings by a sword-wielding executioner wearing his white robes that did not appear to be splattered with blood. One of my high school classmates who is a surgeon, replied with this matter-of-fact comment: “I have my doubts about the genuineness. There should be blood all over the place. A carotid artery can spray up to 10 feet away.” Another classmate wrote: “That email you sent about Saudi justice is horrifying. Is that real? Why isn’t the whole world outraged? Saudi Arabia should be made a pariah nation, and nobody should do business with them.”
Excluding the thousands believed to have taken place in China, executions significantly increased by 53% from 2021, to 883 from 579. This is the highest number since 2017 (993). Pic – India Posts English
On the heels of this, a friend sent me an article about the release of Amnesty International’s (Amnesty) annual report ‘Death Sentences and Executions 2022’. Before we distill the essence of the Amnesty report, let us note that the organization makes its position clear: “Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence, or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. The organization campaigns for total abolition of the death penalty.”
Amnesty’s research on the global use of the death penalty in 2022 revealed a spike in the number of people known to have been executed worldwide, including a significant increase in executions for drug-related offences. Amnesty commented that this “negative trend” contrasts with a countervailing “positive tendency”: “a substantial number of countries have taken decisive steps away from the death penalty in 2022, marking remarkable progress against the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.”
It is not my intention to discuss the pros and cons of the death penalty or whether it should be abolished entirely. Rather, it is to frame the discussion in a different light given the reality that in many countries, the death penalty and execution are not going to be eliminated any time soon. Executions are used by many countries to eliminate political opponents, drug traffickers, and other undesirables.
Secrecy and restrictive state practices
What did Amnesty document for its 2022 report? Secrecy and restrictive state practices continued to impair an accurate assessment of the use of the death penalty in several countries, including China, North Korea and Viet Nam. Excluding the thousands believed to have taken place in China, executions significantly increased by 53% from 2021, to 883 from 579. This is the highest number since 2017 (993).
For More News And Analysis About Mauritius Follow Africa-Press
