It says 270 death sentences have been handed down and more than 100 carried out, including that of Saddam Hussein, his half-brother Barzan, and the former vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan.

Against a background of escalating violence, at least 65 people were executed in 2006 - including two women - putting the country behind only China, Iran and Pakistan. In many cases death sentences were handed down after proceedings which failed to meet international standards, the human rights organisation says. "This represents a profoundly retrograde step, and one that should not be overlooked simply because far larger numbers of lives have been lost due to ongoing violence. The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and the ultimate violation to the right to life; furthermore, it is not an effective deterrent against violence and crime, as the continuing crisis in Iraq underlines," Amnesty says.