NewChinese prosecutors 'worse than police' in torturing suspects for confessions: legal experts

The illegal practice of extracting confessions by use of torture is being employed less and less by regular police, but instead is being increasingly adopted by procuratorial branches seeking to make cases in a bid to bypass recent legal reforms, Chinese legal experts told the 21st Century Business Herald. 

“[Cases of] abuse-related misconduct by procuratorial organs are increasing – eclipsing even those of the police force,” said Chen Weidong, a law school professor at Beijing-based Renmin University, one of China’s top universities.

“Procuratorial branches are heading backwards when it comes to the practice of extorting confessions using torture,” said Wang Shaotao, a deputy director of the Yunnan Provincial Lawyers Association. “Abuses have been diverted towards procuratorial branches," he added.

Chen was cited saying most cases of torture happened to witnesses and people who were testifying, who under Chinese law are rarely allowed to appear at hearings in person – and are therefore less able to make complaints about torture.

The frequent and increasing occurrence of forced confessions have long been cited by human rights activists and lawyers who say the practice is the result of inadequate procedural laws. This prompted the government to revamp its Criminal Procedure Law in 2013 as a part a sweeping legal reform package.

These revisions, widely viewed as a major step by the Chinese judiciary to reform its legal system, consisted of measures to rein in the use of torture by police officers to extract confessions from suspects, and a revamp of other existing regulations.