Death penalty around the world

The death penalty is cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and a violation of human rights – but every day people are put to death in countries around the world.

In Saudi Arabia, 47 people have been executed in just one day. In Pakistan, hundreds are hanged, including juveniles and the mentally ill. In Egypt, activists and journalists face death sentences in wave after wave of repression. In the US, states are using untested combinations of misused medicines to kill prisoners, while passing secrecy laws to hide their tracks.

So-called ‘crimes’ that are punished by execution include homosexuality, adultery and blasphemy. Authoritarian regimes across the world use the death penalty and torture as tools to silence those who dare to oppose them.

The battle between human rights and the death penalty has many frontlines – and we’re on all of them. Our lawyers and investigators go to the places where executions are happening and stop them. In doing so, we protect human rights, save lives and challenge whole systems of injustice.

With us are thousands of activists across the world who believe that protecting human rights means standing up for the most vulnerable. Together, we fight for those facing execution and other extreme human rights abuses with a combination of legal action and public pressure.