Execution rate increases by 60% in Bangladesh: Amnesty

The number of executions in Bangladesh has increased by 60% in 2021 compared to the previous year, said a report by Amnesty International. 

Worldwide the number has risen by at least 20%, according to Death Sentences and Execution 2021 report published Tuesday (24 May). 

"As restrictions put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic were fully or partially lifted and alternative processes were established, a significantly higher number of death sentences than in 2020 was recorded in several countries, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan," reads the full report. 

In Bangladesh, at least five executions were carried out throughout 2021. It is the only country alongside Botswana among 54 Commonwealth countries to do so last year. 

Meanwhile, over 181 death sentence verdicts were delivered in courts of Bangladesh in 2021. It was 113 in 2020. 

At the end of 2021, at least 28,670 people were under sentence of death while nine countries held 82% of the known totals. 

In Bangladesh, the number is above 1800, said Amnesty International.