Executions in 2000

China: 1,000 Saudi Arabia: 123 United States: 85 Iran: 75 Source: Amnesty International

According to Amnesty International,1,457 prisoners in 27 countries were executed last year, and a further 3,058 people in 65 countries were sentenced to death.

China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Iran are the chief countries using the death penalty.

Together they account for at least 88% of all known executions.

The death penalty is an abomination

Neil Durkun, Amnesty International UK

However, figures for China and Saudi Arabia are thought to be even higher.

The US and Japan are the only major industrial countries to enforce the death penalty, and a recent report from Amnesty said the US had abdicated its role as a leader in human rights because of that.

"The death penalty is an abomination," said Neil Durkun, Amnesty International UK. "To have the death penalty is a contravention of the basic right to live.

"It brutalises society. It's outdated, immoral and wrong."

Doubts

Capital punishment is legal in 38 of the 50 US states. The last state to bring back the death penalty was New York in 1995. Illinois placed a moratorium on executions last year, and six other states are actively thinking about it.

Since 1973, more than 90 prisoners in the US have been released from Death Row after their innocence was proven. Many had spent several years awaiting execution.

In 2000, executions are known to have been carried out in the following countries:

Afghanistan, Bahamas, Belarus, Burundi, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Guatemala, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Taiwan, Thailand, US, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.

In addition, death sentences were imposed in:

Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Burma, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Rwanda, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Yugoslavia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.