500 Executed in China This Year, Rights Group Says
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LONDON — China has executed more than 500 people this year in its biggest crackdown on crime since 1983, Amnesty International said today.
The London-based human rights group said the executions were carried out by firing squads after courts were ordered to “clean up crime” before the Asian Games in Beijing later this month.
“Those executed are among the 1,100 people we know have been sentenced to death in the past 12 months,” the rights group said. “And while that number is high, it is only the tip of the iceberg.”
The Chinese government does not reveal how many people have been sentenced to death and the real figure is believed to be much higher, the group added.
It also said that the number of executions this year was the highest since 1983, when an anti-crime campaign resulted in between 5,000 and 10,000 executions.
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