Countries Using Corporal Punishment for Adults: 2022 Overview (Amnesty International)

As of 2022, Amnesty International documented judicial corporal punishment for adults in the following countries. Practices vary by jurisdiction within countries; some have moratoriums or legal restrictions not fully enforced.

Flogging / Whipping / Caning

• Brunei: Syariah Penal Code (hudud/qisas) — stoning, amputation, flogging for theft, adultery, alcohol, LGBT acts.
• Indonesia (Aceh Province only): Islamic law (Qanun) — public caning for gambling, alcohol, khalwat (close proximity), same-sex relations.
• Maldives: Flogging for extramarital sex, alcohol consumption (Sharia-based).
• Nigeria (12 northern states): Sharia penal codes — flogging, amputation, stoning (rarely carried out).
• Qatar: Flogging for alcohol, extramarital sex (mostly expatriates).
• Saudi Arabia: Judicial flogging (often 100–1000 lashes) for moral crimes, protest, blasphemy; sometimes commuted to prison/fines.
• Singapore: Mandatory caning for ~30 offenses (drug trafficking, vandalism, immigration violations, sexual offenses). Males 18–50; medically supervised.
• Sudan: Flogging under 1991 Criminal Act (public order, morality); amputation for theft/hirabah.
• Yemen: Houthi-controlled areas: flogging, amputation under Zaydi Sharia interpretation.

Amputation (Hudud — Theft / Hirabah)

• Iran: Amputation (fingers, hand, foot) for theft, moharebeh (waging war against God).
• Saudi Arabia: Hand/foot amputation for theft, highway robbery (rare; strict evidentiary standards).
• Sudan: Right hand amputation for theft; cross-amputation (right hand + left foot) for hirabah.
• Yemen: Amputation reported in Houthi areas.

Branding

• Saudi Arabia: Historical; rare contemporary reports.

Human Rights Context

• UN CAT, ICCPR, CRC prohibit cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment.
• Corporal punishment violates human dignity; no deterrent evidence; disproportionately affects marginalized groups.
• Global trend: abolition. 170+ states party to CAT; many retain laws but moratorium on execution.

Data reflects known state-sanctioned practices; non-state actors (militias, extremist groups) also employ corporal punishment in conflict zones.