PETALING JAYA: Amnesty International has named Malaysia in a list of countries that impose death sentences following “unfair” trials.
According to its global report “Death Sentences and Executions 2020”, some of these proceedings had not met international fair trial standards.
Other countries named were Singapore, Vietnam, Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.
The report added that Malaysia was among nine countries in the world responsible for 82% of the 28,567 confirmed cases under the death penalty.
The country stood at sixth place with 1,314 people sentenced to death in 2020, behind the US (2,485) and Bangladesh (1,800). The top country was Iraq, with 7,900 people facing execution.
Amnesty International also confirmed at least 22 executions in Malaysia last year, three of which were for drug-related offences.
However, it believed the number to be higher, citing a lack of official information and figures on death penalties in the country.
This is despite the country continuing to observe an official moratorium on executions for a third year in a row, even supporting the biennial UN resolution for the suspension of the death penalty twice.