According to its new report on executions worldwide, Amnesty International says that the Taliban carried out six executions in Afghanistan during the past calendar year.
The organization released its annual 2025 report today (Monday, 18 May).
Based on the findings of the report, Amnesty International stated that the number of executions in 2025 was unprecedented in nearly half a century worldwide.
The report shows that a total of 2,707 people were publicly and officially executed in 17 countries.
Amnesty International says that China executed “thousands” of people, but because the executions are not officially disclosed or carried out publicly, an exact figure cannot be determined.
According to the organization’s statistics, Iran carried out the highest number of official and public executions, with a total of 2,159 executions in 2025.
After Iran, Saudi Arabia executed 356 people, Yemen 51 people, United States 47 people, Egypt 23 people, and Singapore 17 people.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban executed six people.
The fewest recorded executions were in Japan and Taiwan, where both countries reinstated executions for the first time in two decades and each carried out one execution.
Amnesty International says that 25 other countries issued death sentences but did not carry them out.
Despite criticism from citizens, human rights organizations, and international bodies, the Taliban have continued to implement executions.
One of the most horrifying aspects of executions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is the public nature of the killings by gunfire. Typically, announcements are distributed days in advance, inviting people to watch the executions, and even senior Taliban officials, including ministers, attend the events.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
