Scourge of torture "still widespread" in Chinese social system
Beijing (AsiaNews) - Although the Chinese government outlawed torture in 1996, it is still a "widespread" practice in national prisons and barracks, where it is used to extract confessions and "discourage" activists and lawyers working for the rights human from continuing their battle. This is revealed in a report published by the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, which brings together lawyers and attorneys involved in the struggle for the affirmation of the rule of law in China.
The Report was published on the sidelines of the World Day Against Torture: "Although the government outlawed torture in 1996 - reads the text - Chinese legislation lacks a precise definition of what constitutes torture. In this way, security officials have a legal loophole to continue to inflict abuse on detainees. Beijing has also ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, but has not implemented Articles 1 and 4, those relating to psychological torture and confessions obtained under duress " .
As proof of their claims the authors present some "egregious" cases of torture against lawyers who seek to challenge the regime's repression in the courtroom. These include Gao Zhisheng, a dissident and Christian lawyer known for his defense of religious minorities, Ni Yulan, who has worked for more than 10 years in the defense of members of the Falun Gong; Zhu Yubiao, one of the last to be sentenced for "counter-revolutionary activities"; Tang Jitian, figurehead of the weiquan movement [for the protection of rights].
To prove that torture has a mainly
political use, the Report cites the story of Liu Shihui, a Human Rights lawyer
who on February 20, 2011 posted a message on the internet: " I am having a date with Miss Jasmine at People's
Park in Guangzhou at 2pm, February 20. There is nothing private about it, onlookers
are welcome". The
implicit reference is to the Jasmine Revolution that was underway in Northern African
countries.
Although
it is likely that Liu's message was a call for a peaceful demonstration, the
police response was tremendous. Five
security officers stopped him on his way to the park and smashed his feet. Then
they took him away and held him in detention - without going through a court -
for 108 days trying to extort a confession, depriving him of sleep for 5
consecutive days. His
untreated feet, meanwhile, doubled in size.
Failing
to get anything, the police later released him, but have destroyed his computer
and archives, which contained 20 years of legal documents. Later,
Liu was evicted from the house and he was fined 300 thousand yuan (about 28
thousand euros). In
April of 2013, while walking down the street in Suzhou, he was attacked and beaten
by plainclothes agents.
In
conclusion, the authors of the text write: "Despite China's rapid modernisation and
economic success, much is still left to be desired within the authoritarian
single party state. Recent crackdowns of the "Jasmine revolution" along with
tighter censorship controls reflect deterioration in human rights. However
increasing pressures from the international community, a more rights conscious
Chinese population and the weiquan ("rights
defense") movement has placed the long term viability of the status quo into
doubt".
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