THE number of executions recorded worldwide last year jumped to the highest level since 2015, with a sharp rise in Iran and across the Middle East, Amnesty International said in a report released today.

The human rights group said it recorded a total of 1,153 executions in 2023, a 30 per cent increase from 2022. 

Amnesty said that the figure does not include thousands of death sentences believed to have been carried out in China, where data is not available due to state secrecy.