Interrogation chairs ‘padded for comfort’, claims Chinese official as Beijing denies torturing or holding political prisoners

China denied that it held political prisoners and said it prohibited the use of torture when it faced a United Nations' review of its record on Wednesday, evoking derision from exiled dissidents.

Winding up a two-day scrutiny of the country's human rights performance, senior Chinese officials evaded questions about the number of police or prison guards prosecuted for torture and the treatment of high-profile prisoners, including several of whom died in custody.

A report by Amnesty International last week detailed how suspects received electric shocks, were punched, kicked, hit with shoes or bottles filled with water, denied sleep and locked in iron chairs forcing them into painful postures for hours on end.

READ MORE: Detained lawyers, activists in China face serious risk of torture, says Amnesty International

Patrick Poon, one of the researchers behind the Amnesty report, said after the hearing that the chairs were among the biggest complaints from lawyers and their clients.

Li Zhongcheng of the Chinese prosecution authority insisted they were needed to hinder detainees from escaping, injuring themselves or their interrogators.

“To avoid such situations we use interrogation chairs. The chair is sometimes packaged with soft padding to increase a sense of comfort and to increase safety,” he said.

Jens Modvig, one of the committee’s top investigators, remained unconvinced, pointing out that “in a detention place there [should be] no need for restraints”.