China, interrogations to be taped prevent confession by torture
The move "only for work-related crimes". China's vice procurator-general: "The recordings should be live and unedited". Lawyer: "If extended to all kinds of criminal cases, will be a significant step".
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - China will start taping interrogations of suspects involved in work-related crimes to prevent confessions being extracted through torture. Sound recording will start in March of this year, and video recording in October next year, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's highest prosecutor's office.
"Recording and filming interrogations concerning job-related crimes will help prevent violations of the law during interrogation, help ensure the accuracy of key evidence and prevent criminal suspects from revoking confessions or bringing false charges against interrogators," Wang Zhenchuan, China's vice procurator-general, said. Wang said the recordings should be live and unedited.
The move comes amid an unusually frank discussion by state-run media about the use of torture. Xinhua said that Chinese media had repeatedly exposed instances of police using torture to get a confession, which had sparked a public outcry. Li Guifang, vice director of the Criminal Committee of the All-China Lawyers Association, said the recordings were a significant step.
If it proves successful and is extended to interrogations for all kinds of criminal cases, it will be a big step forward in preventing the abuse of power by interrogators, Xinhua quoted him as saying.
China outlawed torture in 1996, but activists and lawyers say it is still widespread. Up until last year Beijing had refused to allow a UN fact finding mission into the country to investigate allegations of torture.
Manfred Nowak, the UN's first torture investigator to visit China, said torture was widespread, but on the decline.
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