China steps up New Year executions

The authorities in China have executed more than 40 people in the past week.

Most of them were sentenced to death for violent crimes, but some were executed for embezzlement or for involvement in illegal religious groups.

The number has, traditionally, increased in the run-up to the Chinese Lunar New Year which falls in early February.

The BBC Beijing correspondent says dozens more executions are likely in the coming few weeks.

Our correspondent says that as the year draws to a close, China has once again earned the dubious honour of carrying out more executions than any other country.

He adds that the authorities have attempted to deflect criticism of their harsh penal code by replacing the usual method of execution, a bullet in the back of the head, with lethal injections.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service