China named ‘world’s lead executioner’ in top persecutors list

By Anugrah Kumar - Posted at The Christian Post:

Published May 12, 2025

China has been named the world’s lead executioner in Amnesty International’s annual report on global capital punishment, which estimated that thousands were put to death in the country in 2024. The watchdog said China’s secretive practices, combined with ongoing religious persecution, set it apart even from countries with record-high confirmed execution counts.

Amnesty recorded at least 1,518 executions globally in 2024 — the highest number in a decade and a 32% increase from the previous year. The figure does not include executions in China, North Korea and Vietnam, where the death penalty is widely believed to be used extensively, but government secrecy prevents verification.

China’s opaque death penalty system, coupled with its persecution of religious minorities, including Christians, Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners, places it at the center of global human rights concerns.

The report identified China as one of the countries that extensively uses the death penalty, including for drug-related offenses, and accused its government of executing religious minorities to harvest and sell their organs.

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• Korean group raises alarm over China’s new crackdown on Christian (The Christian Post)