China lawyers urge probe into torture claim in mob crackdown
BEIJING — A group of Chinese lawyers on Sunday called on the nation's top prosecution agency to investigate allegations that torture was used to extract confessions from defendants in a high…
BEIJING — A group of Chinese lawyers on Sunday called on the nation's top prosecution agency to investigate allegations that torture was used to extract confessions from defendants in a high profile mafia crackdown.In a letter to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the lawyers highlighted the case of Fan Qihang, an alleged mobster who was sentenced to death as part of the crackdown in the southwestern city of Chongqing.Prominent rights lawyer Li Fangping, who emailed the letter to AFP, said more than 20 lawyers and scholars had signed it on Sunday, including Teng Biao and Tang Jitian, two other well-known attorneys.The letter reveals that Fan's lawyer recently made public documents including photos and videos allegedly showing Fan was tortured after he was detained last year.He was allegedly regularly beaten, deprived of sleep, and on one occasion, hung from iron bars with his hands shackled behind his back for five days, the letter says.Fan says he confessed to crimes he did not commit, and the Supreme Court is currently reviewing the sentence, according to rights group Amnesty International.The letter also says that the documents made public by Fan's lawyer allege other defendants were also tortured."We call on the Supreme People's Procuratorate to immediately investigate if torture was used in the Chongqing crackdown cases, including Fan Qihang's case, based on the Constitution and relevant regulations," it reads.The letter, which also calls on results of the investigation to be made public, comes just over two months after China issued new rules banning courts from accepting confessions obtained via torture.The mob crackdown in Chongqing, masterminded by party chief Bo Xilai, has riveted the nation with its sordid tales of abuses of power.It has resulted in more than 3,300 detentions and hundreds of prosecutions, including the trials of nearly 100 officials.Wen Qiang, the former head of the judiciary in Chongqing and also an ex-deputy police chief, was executed last month on charges including rape and
last modification 2010-08-23 01:11:55
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