Belarus on list of world’s capital punishment leaders

Belarus is on the list of the world’s capital punishment leaders (2 people were executed in 2017 and 4 – in 2018) together with such countries as Japan (15), Singapore (13), South Sudan (7) and the USA (25), according to the Amnesty International's report for 2018. China is not on this list because this information is secret (the organization is only aware of the fact that several thousand people get executed in China every year). At least 235 people were executed in Iran and 149 -  in Saudi Arabia last year.

At the same time, the number of executions has decreased by 31%. 993 people were executed in 2017 and 690 – last year. This is this the minimal number registered in the past decade.

The information reflects a tendency – even the leaders of the capital punishment rankings are changing their attitude to the issue and coming to the conclusion that ‘a death sentence is not a solution’, the Secretary General of the Amnesty International Kumi Naidoo reckons.

Belarus is the only European country with death penalty.