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THE WORLD’S TOP executioner China put 2,400 people to death last year, a US-based rights group said today, shedding rare light on a statistic Beijing considers a state secret.
The figure was a fall of 20 percent from 2012, the Dui Hua Foundation said, and a fraction of the 12,000 in 2002.
China is so reticent on the issue that it has done nothing to publicise the long-term decline in its use of the death penalty. But it still executes more people than every other country put together, rights groups say.
The total for the rest of the world combined was 778 people in 2013, according to campaign group Amnesty International’s annual report earlier this year. It does not give an estimate for Chinese executions.
Dui Hua said that it obtained its figures from “a judicial official with access to the number of executions carried out each year”.
But the recent annual declines were “likely to be offset” this year, it said, due to factors including the “strike hard” campaign in the violence-wracked largely Muslim region of Xinjiang.
Terrorist offences
Hundreds of people have been convicted of terrorist offences in the area, and last week a court condemned 12 to death in connection with a July attack.
“China currently executes more people every year than the rest of the world combined, but it has executed far fewer people since the power of final review of death sentences was returned to the (Supreme People’s Court) in 2007,” Dui Hua said.
China’s top court examines all death sentences issued in the country, and sent back 39 percent of those it reviewed last year to lower courts for additional evidence, Dui Hua said, citing a report by the Southern Weekly newspaper.
The Chinese legal system is tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party and courts have a near-100 percent conviction rate in criminal cases.
The use of force to extract confessions remains widespread in the country, leading to a number of miscarriages of justice.
China has occasionally exonerated wrongfully executed convicts after others came forward to confess their crimes, or in some cases because the supposed murder victim was later found alive.
In one landmark case in June, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence for Li Yan, a woman who killed her abusive husband.
RIP, can’t wait for 2016 to end ….
Legend. .R.I.P Rick… the opening rif to Caroline respect..
R.I.P Rick ..Rool Over Lay Down
RI.P.Rick ..Roll Over Lay Down
@829nza:R.I.P Rick ..Roll over Lay Down.
@829nza: R.I.P Rick ..Roll Over Lay Down
Totally agree with you friend. It’s been truly awful. I loved the quo.
@Steve Austin: One more song… One more song!
Sorry for multiple comments. .Journal App took a figaire
Why cant a bunch of politicians be taken instead?
@829nza: Feck off 2016, just feck off why don’t you.
“Rocking all over the world” adored that song,i think they opened up live aid in 1985 with that song. RIP another one gone
Christ. Not another one. RIP
Ah here 2016 would you ever fukk off with yourself & do something useful & go after Beiber or Kanye.
I don’t get why people would wish others would die instead . Beiber is a young lad with his life ahead of him and kanye has a couple young kids . I don’t like either of them but I would wish them dead ..
*Wouldn’t *
Thoughts and prayers are with his family, another star gone from our sky’s tonight
Saw Status Quo at Wembley Stadium in 1986. Queen headlined with The Alarm and INXS also. They were great craic live and had us all head banging even though most of us there for Queen. Thanks for the great memories.
Another victim of 2016…vicious. RIP
He’s in the army with the great up above
RIP. His guitar intro to Caroline was always sensational and wrote some beautiful songs for Quo like Living on an Island. A true rocker.
R.I.P.
A true rock and roller, not like our two best known sanctimonious hypocrites.
That’s no way to speak about Foster and Alan
Matt Donovan I couldn’t agree with you more.
The coke finaly took its toll .
This is not the time or place to get on your high horse about sugary drinks.
Status Quo brought fun to Rock RIP Rick
Very sad..
Prince might teach him a forth chord. RIP
His family were considering cremating him, but decided to bury him down, down, deeper and down.
Gutted. If there is a heaven he’ll be seeing his little Heidi again. Her death at two years old in the swimming pool really knocked him. He was one of the nicest, gentlest, funniest guys in the business. God’s band is about to rock. RIP Rick. Let ‘em’ ave it.
RIP to a legend. I loved Yellow Brick Road
Eff you, 2016. Eff you in the A
@Daisy Chai NSaw: Pop stars are starting to enter old age, so 2017 will probably be just as bad.
@Eamon. You hit the nail on the head there. A lot of the rock stars of the 60s and 70s are getting old, many in there 70s now. It’s kind of inevitable that, because of the lives of excess they lived in their hay day, that it’s taking its toll now. RIP Rick, one of my favourite Status Quo songs is “Mystery Song” which has Rick on lead vocal. Just gave it a blast a few mins ago, still sounds great.
R.I.P Rick… Rool Over Lay Down
2016 isn’t finished yet. Glad to see the back of it given the loss of so many legends. RIP Rick.
God, I think you got your take and not to take list mixed up.
have your say