At least 883 people were executed worldwide in 2022, says Amnesty International — that's the highest number recorded in five years. Many executions took place in Iran and Saudi Arabia, including of political prisoners.

Tehran holds Jamshid Sharmahd responsible for a terrorist attack. Activists and German politicians describe the allegations as unfounded.

At 87 years old, Iwao Hakamada is on the verge of finding true freedom, more than 50 years after being sentenced to death for murders he says he did not commit. Tokyo's high court ordered a retrial this month, acknowledging that key evidence that led to his conviction had likely been fabricated by investigators.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has signed a law imposing the death penalty on civil servants and army personnel convicted of high treason.

Many believe capital punishment is needed to deter people from committing serious crimes though critics say there is no evidence for this. India refuses to abolish capital punishment but the number of executions is low.

At a meeting of foreign ministers, Germany's Annalena Baerbock urged Israel to abandon a plan to start executing terrorists. Her Israeli counterpart, meanwhile, warned that Iran now poses a threat to Europe.

Tehran is weaponizing the death penalty to punish individuals taking part in protests in order to strike fear into the Iranian population and stamp out dissent, the UN human rights chief said on January 10.

After carrying out two executions on Saturday and two in December, Iran plans to execute two more young men for participating in the ongoing nationwide protests. But resistance is coming from within Iran and abroad.

Despite criticism at home and abroad, the Iranian government continues to hold firm on Revolutionary Courts and death sentences.

The alleged Libyan agent was charged with international terrorism over the Pan Am blast in 1988. But US prosecutors said that they are not seeking a death penalty for him.

As the World Congress Against the Death Penalty is underway in Berlin, many African countries are witnessing a fall in the number of state executions.

US photographer Scott Langley began documenting the death penalty more than 20 years ago, after he was moved by an experience he had standing outside a prison "death house" in his native Texas. His photos are currently on display at the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, which is taking place this week in Berlin.