Originally posted by: mrbentley
4000 executions in 2002: watchdog
"MORE than 4,000 executions took place around the world last year, the vast majority of them in China, a leading campaigner against the death penalty announced today.
More than 3,000 executions took place in China alone, according to the Italian group, Hands Off Cain, which also highlighted Iran, Iraq and the United States as leading exponents of capital punishment in its annual report.
Iran executed 316 people, Iraq 214, while the United States put to death 71, a small rise on the previous year's 66.
However, the lobby group was encouraged that only 13 US states carried out executions, the lowest number for a decade.
African countries carried out 63 executions, while other countries highlighted were Saudi Arabia, 49; Sudan, 40; Vietnam, 34; Kazakhstan 31; Tajikistan 25; Pakistan, 20 and Singapore, 18. Europe accounted for 19 executions last year, the group said, pointing to three carried out by Belarus, the only European country still retaining the death penalty. Sharia law in Chechen-controlled territory in Russia accounted for 15 deaths, with one other in Georgia."