Jordan on Sunday executed eleven people, among 120 Jordanians who have committed capital crimes in the last ten years, just after the eight-year ban on death penalty was lifted.

The 120 Jordanians were given the death penalty but because of the halt in the drafted penal code of the country, none of them have been executed until this Sunday.

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The ban was implemented in 2006 but the need to reinstate the policy regarding execution was called for as the crime and violence increased. Jordan has taken into consideration the concerns of the international community regarding human rights violation and civil liberties.

According to Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director of a United States-based Human Rights Watch, the recent executions in Jordan have resulted in the country losing its progress over death penalty in the region. She adds that reviving the punishment is just cruel and it has resulted to Jordan backsliding again on human rights.

Interior Minister Hussein Majali has already stated recently that the execution ban might be lifted and it has sparked a major debate in the country. Majali also pointed out that majority of the public believed that the rising incidents of crime and violence are due to the absence of the death penalty.

The recorded number of felonies and other major crimes in the country has increased to 33,800 in 2013 compared to the 24,700 recorded crimes in 2009. Despite this number, Jordan is still considered as the safest in the region.

The men that were executed over the weekend were said to have been convicted of murder charges and that they were all taken into required legal measures before being killed, according to the Interior Ministry spokesman Ziad Zubi.

Other countries such as Saudi Arabia allow death penalty. China also is known for executing thousands of people who have committed crimes. Capital punishment also remains legal in a lot of states in the U.S.

TagsJordan, hanging, execution ban, Human Rights