Did you know that last year had the highest rate of executions recorded since 2015? 

Over 1,500 people were executed across 15 countries.

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen were the leading executioners globally while figures for China, North Korea and Vietnam remain unavailable but executions are believed to be in the 1000s.

Over 40% of executions were carried out unlawfully for drug-related offences and were particularly prevalent in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. Under international law, drug offences do not meet the threshold of 'most serious crimes' and countries who are considering introducing capital punishment for drug related offences such as the Maldives, Nigeria and Tonga must be called out.