778 executions worldwide in 2013: Amnesty

LONDON: At least 778 people were executed worldwide in 2013, including one in India, global human rights body Amnesty International said today.

The watchdog, in its World Death Penalty Report 2014, found a "disturbing" level of secrecy around executions in Asia Pacific region, including in India where its only execution took place last year - that of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

"India's only execution in 2013 - of a man convicted in relation to a 2002 terror attack on the Indian parliament - was carried out without any prior notification and despite serious fair trial concerns," the report said.

In several countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Viet Nam authorities flaunted international standards on transparency around the death penalty, refusing to release figures or inform family members, lawyers or the general public about executions, it noted.

"The shroud of secrecy around executions in Asia is deeply worrying and flies in the face of international standards. It raises the question - what are these governments trying to hide," said Richard Bennett, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific director.

The world is moving towards abolition of the death penalty while many Asian countries try to swim against the tide and "hide their state-sanctioned killings", Bennett said.

"India hanged Mohammad Afzal Guru in secret in Tihar Jail on February 9," Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's secretary general told newsmen.

At least 1,030 new death sentences were imposed in 17 countries, including 72 in India while at least 400 people were believed to be on death row at the end of 2013 in India, the report said.

The other countries that imposed the highest number of death penalties in the region were Afghanistan (174), Bangladesh (220) and Pakistan (226).

Executions worldwide rose by almost 15 per cent compared to the figures in 2012.

"At least 778 people were executed worldwide. This figure does not include the thousands of people put to death in China, which keeps this data a state secret. Almost 80 per cent of all known executions were recorded in just three countries: Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia," the report said.