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.