BBC News(Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees in China)
BBC News, Monday, 12 February, 2001, 16:00
GMT
Human rights group Amnesty International says torture and
ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees in China has become widespread
and systematic. In a report, Amnesty says a growing range of Chinese officials
are
resorting to extreme violence against inmates in a range of institutions
from police stations to drug rehabilitation centres. Among the
victims are members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement and Muslim
separatists in the far western region of Xinjiang. Amnesty says the
government's commitment to curbing
torture has often been undermined by its
own directives to use every means in anti-corruption campaigns and
political crackdowns. The report also says that although Chinese
journalists are playing a growing role in exposing abuses, they would
never report torture of political dissidents. Abuses
growing
"What is particularly horrifying about torture in China
is that much of it is committed by officials in broad daylight to instil fear
and discipline," said an
Amnesty spokesman. He told BBC
News Online: "The fact that torture is
often not even hidden in China shows
that these officials commit these crimes with total
impunity." According to the report, the range of
officials resorting to torture is expanding, as is the circle of
victims. "In China, the trend is toward a widening of the scope of torture to
include state-sponsored blackmail, collection of tax and the
enforcement of fines," said the spokesman. And although
the Chinese Government has said it is committed to fighting torture, the report
says investigations rarely bring perpetrators to justice and official
denials are readily accepted. Persecution Amnesty also says bogus
psychiatric hospitalisation is often used to suppress
dissent. The report makes recommendations to the
Chinese
authorities to improve human rights, including banning torture,
and excluding from courts all evidence
extracted under
torture. Amnesty also urges an end to incommunicado
and
arbitrary detention, ensuring detainees access to lawyers,
families and medical treatment, and instituting an effective complaints
mechanism.