China Executions Lead World in Death Penalties

Amnesty International warned that the country's human rights record was getting worse as Beijing bids to present a united front by cracking down on dissent.

According to Amnesty International, China has executed at least 1,200 people last year which leads the way to being the world's most prolific users of the death penalty.

Amnesty International, a London-based human rights group, warned that those figures were only minimum estimates and cautioned that the true extent of the use of capital punishment could not be known. This is because in many countries, state executions were shrouded in official secrecy.

"The secretive use of the death penalty must stop: the veil of secrecy surrounding the death penalty must be lifted," Amnesty said in a statement. "Many governments claim that executions take place with public support. People therefore have a right to know what is being done in their name."

The human rights group said that at least 1,252 people had been executed in 24 countries around the world in 2007, 88 percent of which took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United States.

China led the way with at least 470 executions in countries using the death penalty, followed by Iran with more than 317, Saudi Arabia with a minimum of 143, and Pakistan with at least 135.

In a report earlier this month, Amnesty warned that China's human rights record was getting worse as Beijing bids to present a united front by cracking down on dissent.

China's hopes of winning international prestige by sending the Olympic torch through 135 cities on five continents ahead of the Games have already been severely dented.