Information transmitted to the Government and replies received thereon
146. On 26 August 1993 the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government of China a letter containing a summary of allegations received with regard to the practice of torture in the country, as well as a number of individual cases. In addition, the Special Rapporteur made four urgent appeals on behalf of persons who, according to the information received, were at risk of being tortured. The Government sent replies with respect to some of them.
(a) Information regarding the practice of torture in general
147. According to the information received, although torture is prohibited by law in China, police and other State personnel continue to use it to extract confessions or to intimidate or punish prisoners. Torture often occurs during initial interrogation, immediately after arrest, when police officers try to force suspects to give information about themselves or others, or to admit alleged offences. Torture may also continue throughout the period of detention without trial, which can last for weeks or months before a detainee is either prosecuted and tried, or released without charge or given a term of administrative detention.
148. According to the information received, torture and ill-treatment are also common in prisons and labour camps where prisoners are transferred after being tried and sentenced by a court or after being sentenced to a term of administrative detention without the benefit of a trial. In penal institutions, ill-treatment often occurs when prisoners infringe regulations or disobey orders. Both common criminal prisoners and persons detained for political reasons have, reportedly, been subjected to torture. However, the majority of victims seem to come from the less educated or less privileged classes.
149. The most common methods of torture reportedly include beatings, assaults with electric batons or stun guns, the use of handcuffs and shackles in a way intended to inflict pain, suspension by the arms in contorted positions, being made to adopt painful or exhausting physical postures, deprivation of sleep or food, exposure to cold or heat, and prolonged solitary confinement beyond the 15 day period allowed by the Chinese regulations as a punishment. It is allegedly common practice for prisoners sentenced to death to wear handcuffs and/or leg irons from the time they are sentenced to death until they are executed, even if it is a period of several months.
150. Reports were also received of prisoners becoming ill in jail, frequently as a consequence of the lack of proper sanitation and hygiene, and poor nutrition, who were denied proper medical treatment.
151. According to the information received, Chinese law does not provide basic safeguards to protect prisoners against torture. The law only guarantees access to a lawyer in cases where detainees are prosecuted under the criminal law. Even in such cases, there is no provision in law for access to a lawyer or a judicial authority during pre-trial detention and access to a lawyer is only guaranteed once the procedure for trial has started. In these circumstances it is almost impossible for detainees to make complaints about torture. The legislation includes regulations which permit administrative detention without charge or trial and, therefore, without any access to a lawyer or a judicial authority, for a period of up to four years. Access for the family is usually only granted after a prisoner has been tried and sentenced or "assigned" a term of administrative detention. Furthermore, family visits are considered a privilege rather than a right and can therefore be denied to prisoners.
152. Although the Criminal Procedure Law stipulates that a confession alone is insufficient evidence to find a person guilty, in practice a confession is often found sufficient when the other evidence of guilt is inadequate. It was also reported that the courts often ignore the allegations of torture made by detainees during the trials.
153. The investigation of torture allegations is reportedly inadequate and few investigations take place. The investigations are not public and the findings are not subject to public scrutiny. Perpetrators often receive only administrative sanctions, such as a transfer. If they are prosecuted, the punishments are often light. Many investigations are in fact dropped without the alleged perpetrators being prosecuted.
(b) Individual cases transmitted to the Government
154. The 34 cases referred to in the following paragraphs were also transmitted to the Government, which replied concerning them on 22 November 1993.
155. An Fuxing, formerly a cadre at the Jilin Chemical Industry Corporation, in the Liaoning Province, was arrested in June 1989 on political charges and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. It was alleged that during his stay at the No. 1 Squadron of the Training Brigade, a part of the Lingyuan No. 2 Labour-Reform Detachment of Liaoning Province, he was repeatedly beaten. He was also reportedly kept in solitary confinement in a tiny dark cell where he was stripped naked, held down on the floor and repeatedly given shocks with high voltage electric batons on various parts of his body. As a result, he allegedly fell into a state of shock and had to be taken to hospital, but as soon as he came back he was tortured again with electric batons. According to the Government, An Fuxing, was sentenced in March 1991 by the Jilin Municipal People's Intermediate Court to five years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security. He is now serving sentence at the Lingyuan No. 2 prison in Liaoning. He has been in consistently good health and has never stayed in hospital.
156. Li Jie, a prisoner from Jilin province also held at the Lingyuan No. 2 labour-reform detachment, was reportedly stripped naked, held down on the floor and tortured with 50,000 volt electric batons on several parts of his body after trying to stage a one-day hunger strike on 4 June 1991. According to the Government, Li Jie was sentenced in February 1992 by the Changchun Municipal People's Intermediate Court to five years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security. He is now serving sentence at the Lingyuan No. 2 prison. According to investigations, he has never been subjected to beatings or verbal abuse.
157. Zhang Ming, a prisoner at the Lingyuan No. 2 labour reform detachment, Liaoning province, was reportedly beaten and kicked for writing a poem on the wall on 4 February 1992. On 4 April 1992, the Brigade commander reportedly summoned him to his office and assaulted him by striking him with an electric baton on the chest, back and neck. According to the Government, Zhang Ming was sentenced to prison in 1991 by the Beijing Municipal People's Intermediate Court for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security, served his sentence in Lingyuan No. 2 prison and was released on 25 June 1992 when he completed it. He did not, during his sentence, "compose poems on the prison walls", and there is no question of his having been savagely beaten for this or any other reason.
158. In addition to the above-mentioned, the following prisoners at the Lingyuan labour reform detachment, Liaoning province, were also reported to have been subjected to torture, including frequent beatings:
(a) Chi Mengzhu, a senior high school graduate from Jilin city, arrested in May 1990 for printing and distributing leaflets and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. According to the Government, Chi Mengzhu was sentenced in June 1990 by the Jilin Municipal People's Intermediate Court to 10 years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security. He has never been subjected to beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(b) Li Dejun, formerly a teacher in Benxi county, Liaoning province, sentenced to three years' imprisonment on political charges. According to the Government, Li Dejun was sentenced in August 1989 by the Benxi Municipal People's Intermediate Court to three years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security. He was never subjected to beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment during his sentence.
(c) Si Wei, a senior high school graduate from Tonghua city, Jilin, arrested in June 1989 for distributing leaflets and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. According to the Government, Si Wei was sentenced in November 1990 by the Tonghua Municipal People's Intermediate Court to four years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security and is now serving his sentence in Lingyuan No. 2 prison. He is in good health and has never suffered beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(d) Tian Xiaoming, a college graduate from Dandong city, sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on political charges. According to the Government, Tian Xiaoming was sentenced in December 1989 by the Dandong Municipal People's Intermediate Court for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security. He is in good health and has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(e) Liang Liwei, formerly an assistant engineer at Changchun No. 1 car factory, arrested on 10 June 1989, sentenced to three years' imprisonment and transferred to Lingyuan in April 1991. According to the Government, Liang Liwei was tentenced in November 1990 by the Changchun Municipal People's Intermediate Court to a term of imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security, and served his sentence at Lingyuan No. 2 prison. When his term was up, on 10 June 1992, he was released. He has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(f) Chen Zhuman, a farmer from Putian county, Fujian province, was arrested on 14 December 1991, accused of "illegally" joining a religious group and taken to the Putian county detention centre. According to the reports, he was beaten and hung upside down in a window frame with a mobile torture device, and left hanging like this for a long time. In August 1992 he was transferred to another prison in Quanzhou city where he is said to have been subjected to frequent beatings as a result of which he now suffers from hearing impairment and his hands shake constantly. According to the Government, Chen Zhuman was investigated as the law prescribes in December 1991 for involvement in illegal activities and assigned in 1992 to three years' re-education through labour. He has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(g) Fan Xueyan, aged 84, former bishop of Baoding, Hebei province, was arrested in November 1990 and remained missing until he died in April 1992. On the night of 16 April 1992 his body was reportedly delivered to his family by Public Security officers who did not give any explanation as to the cause of his death. The only official statement was made by a spokesman for the official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association who explained that he had died of pneumonia. However, photographs of his body showed a large pinkish-purple mark on the side of his face and marks of apparent injuries on his legs.
(h) Khangsa Gyaltsen, a trader from Thentho Xiang, Zogang Dzong, was arrested on 7 July 1989 for having participated in a demonstration. He was detained in Chamdo where he allegedly underwent severe torture and was kept in solitary confinement. On 7 December 1990 he was transferred to Reform-through-Labour Unit No. 2 and is reportedly in very poor health. According to the Government, the investigation of Khangsa Gyaltsen's circumstances is pending.
(i) Laba Dunzhu (Lawa Dondrup or Lhapka Dondrup) was sentenced in 1989 to two-and-a-half years' imprisonment and sent to Gutsa detention centre in Lhasa. He reportedly was subjected to several kinds of torture, such as being hung from his arms which were chained behind his back and beaten on his back and abdomen while suspended. In winter, when it was very cold, he is said to have been made to lie down on the ground completely naked for one to two hours. He is reported to have suffered many injuries as a result of the torture, including a ruptured spleen, and to have become severely ill. He died in November 1991 at the People's Hospital in Lhasa.
(j) Li Lin, a worker from Hengyang, and his brother Li Zhi, were arrested in Hengyang, Hunan province, in 1991. They were first held for a few days at the Baishazhou investigation centre and then transferred to the Wanjiawan detention centre in Hengyang. According to the reports, they were beaten on several occasions during interrogation by being punched with fists and prodded repeatedly with an electric baton. They were released after five months. According to the Government, Li Lin and Li Zhi were arrested in Hengyang, Hunan, in 1991; they were released five months later, and subsequently left the country. While in captivity they were not severely beaten.
(k) Lobsang Tsondrue, a prisoner at Drapchi prison in Lhasa, was allegedly severely beaten and put in solitary confinement after a protest which took place in the prison in April 1991. According to the Government, Lobsang Tsondrue, sentenced by the Lhasa Municipal People's Intermediate Court to six years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal separatist activities, was sentenced by the prison, in accordance with the law, to a short period of self-examination in isolation for having seriously breached prison regulations, but has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(l) Lu Decheng, a worker for the Liuyang branch of the Hunan provincial bus company, was convicted of "counter-revolutionary" offences in August 1989 and sentenced to 16 years' imprisonment. He reportedly was subjected to severe ill-treatment from the time of his arrest. Following his trial he was transferred to the Hunan Provincial No. 3 Prison at Lingling, where he was reportedly kept in solitary confinement in particularly harsh conditions for a period of six months. According to the Government, Lu Decheng was sentenced by the Beijing Municipal People's Intermediate Court to 16 years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to the strengthening of the State and is being held in Hunan Province No. 2 prison. He has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(m) Ma Zhiqiang, a worker from Shanghai, was arrested on 15 June 1989 for attempting to form an independent trade union and taken to the Nanshiqu detention centre (Kanshousuo) where he was repeatedly beaten and kept handcuffed with his arms behind his back with tight manacles which caused his hands to swell. According to the Government, Ma Zhiqiang was sentenced by the Shanghai Municipal People's Intermediate Court to five years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security. He is currently serving sentence in Shanghai municipal prison. He has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(n) Ngawang Yankyi, a nun from Tsamkhung nunnery in Lhasa, was arrested on 21 August for taking part in a slogan-shouting demonstration and taken to Drapchi Central Prison in Lhasa. She was said to have been severely ill-treated and tortured and had to be taken to the Lhasa people's hospital.
According to the Government, the investigation of Ngawang Yankyi's circumstances is pending.
(o) Ning Wang and Wenhua Zhu, prisoners at Tianjin No. 1 prison, Tianjin. Since 1989 they are reported to have been frequently beaten, given shocks with electric batons, restrained in tight punishment handcuffs and kept for long periods in solitary confinement. At the time of their detention Ning Wang served as chairman of the Tianjin Workers Autonomous Federation and Wenhua Zhu was a member of the Standing Committee of the same organization.
According to the Government, Wang Ning was sentenced by the Tianlü Municipal People's Intermediate Court to eight years' imprisonment for involvement in illegal activities injurious to State security; Zhu Wenhua, to five years' imprisonment. Both are currently interned in Tianlü municipal prison. Neither in prison nor during the investigations has either undergone any kind of corporal punishment, beatings or abuse.
(p) Sin Jin, a journalist and former head of the Shanxi bureau of the Hainan Economic Newspaper, was taken into police custody in Hai Kou, on Hainan island, in July 1989. He was subsequently transferred to other detention centres, among them the Taiyuan city Public Security Bureau, where he is reported to have been severely beaten and put in irons weighing more than 50 kilograms, causing him temporary paralysis. According to the Government, the investigation of Jin Sin's circumstances is pending.
(q) Tang Boqiao, a student leader in Changsa during the 1989 protests, was held in six different detention centres and prisons in Hunan province following his arrest in July 1989. He was allegedly subjected to frequent, severe beatings from his cell-mates at the instigation of jail officials, as well as being struck with electric batons during his stay at Changsha No. 1 detention centre. While in Longxi prison, he was reportedly beaten, chained hand and foot and confined in a cold, damp and tiny cell. According to the Government, Tang Boqiao is now outside the country. During his internment he was never subjected to beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(r) Tashi (Lhundup Kalden), a monk at Gaden monastery in Gyama Ziang, Maldrogunkar, Tibet, was arrested on 5 March 1988. At the time of the arrest he was allegedly stripped and flogged and hit with an iron bar over the head, which rendered him unconscious. He was reportedly kept shackled hand and foot for a 10-month period. He is now allegedly confined to his hospital bed and suffers from periodic blindness and deafness and has difficulty in standing. According to the Government, Tashi was sentenced by the Lhasa Municipal People's Intermediate Court to nine years and six months' imprisonment for involvement in illegal separatist activities. He served sentence at the Tibet Autonomous Region prison, but then, because he contracted a disease of the cerebral blood vessels, he was released on bail for medical treatment on 31 March 1993. According to investigations, during his period of imprisonment he never underwent beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(s) Tsechok, a monk, was detained in Lhasa in 1989 and taken to the police headquarters where he was allegedly beaten with a cattle prod, sticks and rifle butts and tied up to the ceiling during an entire night. He was later transferred to Gutsa detention centre, where he was reportedly kept on an iron chair with his hands chained to the chair and his feet to a cement pillar for eight days. Subsequently he was allegedly hit with a stick with a triangular section, which left a two-inch-long scar on his head. According to the Government, the investigation of Tsechok's circumstances is pending.
(t) Wang Xizhe, detained at Guangdong Provincial No. 1 prison in Huaiji county, is alleged to be held in solitary confinement since 1988. In 1990 he reportedly went on hunger strike and was force-fed with a bamboo stick through which food was pushed down his throat. In 1991 his books and personal belongings were taken away for several months. He is said to suffer from depression and deteriorating health. According to the Government, Wang Xizhi was released on parole on 3 February 1993. He was in good health while in prison; considering his own expressed desire for quiet surroundings in which to read, the prison authorities arranged for him to occupy a comparatively roomy cell by himself, but he did normal recreational and sporting activities with the other convicts.
(u) Xie Baoquan, prisoner at Mian county detention centre (Kanshousuo), Shaanxi province, was punished in the winter of 1989-1990 for involvement in a fight. He and another man were allegedly handcuffed back to back and tied with a rope, which the other prisoners had to pull as fast as they could, dragging along the two men tied up. This treatment, called "the old ox ploughing the land", left Xie Baoquan with a massive wound on his back which took several months to heal. According to the Government, the investigation of Xie Baoquan's circumstances is pending.
(v) Xu Wenli is serving a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment at Beijing No. 1 prison. He is alleged to have spent 11 years of his sentence in solitary confinement and to have at times been subjected to punishments. In 1986 he was allegedly confined in a windowless cell opening through a trap door in the ceiling, with reduced food rations and no visits, mail or reading matter. According to the reports, official sources have confirmed in recent years that he was still in solitary confinement. According to the Government, Xu Wenli was released on parole on 26 May 1993. During his internment in Beijing No. 1 prison the prison authorities arranged for him, at his own request, to occupy a comparatively roomy cell so that he could study more easily. He did normal recreational and sporting activities with the other convicts. There is an essential distinction between this and solitary confinement.
(w) Yao Guisheng, a worker in Changsha, was arrested in Zhuzhou after June 1989 and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. During his stay at Hunan Provincial No. 6 prison in Longxi he is reported to have become mentally ill as a result of repeated ill-treatment. He was periodically put in solitary confinement, frequently beaten and made to wear shackles. According to the Government, while in prison Yao Guisheng was given 10 days' confinement as punishment for fighting, brawling and serious breaches of the prison regulations, but he has never undergone beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(x) Zhang Xudong, a worker and director of Changsha lift factory, was reportedly arrested in 1989 and taken to the Changsha No. 1 detention centre, where he was made to wear handcuffs and leg irons for nearly a year.
According to the Government, the investigation of Zhang Xudong's circumstances is pending.
(y) Zhang Ruiyu, a 54 year-old teacher at the Physical Education Academy in Xianyu county, Fujian province and a member of the New Testament church, was severely beaten by a group of officers from the local Public Security bureau who burst into her house on 31 May 1990. Reportedly, her face was burned with electric batons and she was beaten to the extent that her teeth were broken. According to the Government, Zhang Ruiyu was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in November 1991 for involvement in illegal activities and breach of the criminal law. During her incarceration she has never been subjected to beatings, verbal abuse or corporal punishment.
(z) Zhou Min was reportedly arrested in June 1989 in Changsha and taken to Changsha No. 1 detention centre where he was repeatedly ill-treated and beaten with electric batons. In June 1990 he was sentenced to six years' imprisonment and transferred to Hunan Provincial No. 1 prison in Yuanjiang.
(aa) Zhu Mei, aged 73, a retired primary school teacher and member of a Protestant house-church in Shanghai, is reported to have been severely beaten on several occasions while serving a sentence of five years' imprisonment at Tilanqiao, Shanghai municipality's main prison. As a result of the beatings one of her knees was broken in 1991.
(bb) Zhang Lezhi, a Christian member of the banned New Testament church, was arrested on 8 September 1992 in Nine Lanes village, Shouguang county and taken first to a local police station and two days later to the Shouguang city detention centre. While in custody, he was reportedly assaulted by two police officers with an electric baton. After the beating his legs were allegedly manacled with fetters weighing nine kilograms; his hands were also handcuffed and the handcuffs and fetters were tied together with a short chain so that Zhang Lezhi had to stay bent at a 180-degree angle. The beatings reportedly continued while he was thus chained and an additional fetter was later added to his legs, bringing the total weight to 13 kilograms. According to the reports, he was chained in this painful position day and night for three months without the chains ever being removed, even for sleeping or eating. When the weather became cold, he reportedly requested permission to have the chains removed so as to put on additional clothes, but this was also denied.
(cc) Zhu Zizheng was arrested in the same circumstances as Zhang Lezhi. According to the reports, he was forced to sit for a whole day on a so-called "security chair" (anquan yi) which had spikes on the sides. This chair is reportedly used at the detention centre for punishing inmates and any movement on the chair causes severe pain. Zhu Zizheng was reportedly beaten while he was sitting on the chair and had food forced into his mouth.
159. With regard to these four last persons the Government replied that the investigation was pending.
Urgent appeals
160. In addition to the above-mentioned cases, the Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government of China four urgent appeals on behalf of the persons mentioned in the following paragraphs, regarding whom fears were expressed that they might be subjected to torture. The date on which the appeals were sent is mentioned in parentheses at the end of the corresponding summary.
161. Sonam Wangdu and Ganden Tashi, prisoners at Drapchi prison, Lhasa, were said to be in very bad physical condition owing to the mistreatment they had suffered since their arrests in 1988. Fears for their lives were expressed unless they were given proper medical care and protection from further mistreatment. (16 December 1992)
162. Rinchen Gendun, a tourist guide, and Lobsang Yanten (also known as Tsasur Choenzed) described as an elderly former monk from Drepung monastery, as well as a woman whose identity was not reported, were arrested at their homes in the Ramoche area in Lhasa on 13 May 1993 around midnight and taken to an unknown place. It was reported that the arrests were carried out approximately 48 hours before a visit to the region by a European Community delegation and, according to the source, the reason for the arrests was to prevent those people from contacting the members of that delegation. It was also alleged that in the past several people arrested in similar circumstances, including Sonam Wangdu, Lhundrups Kalden and Sonam Dolkar, had been held incommunicado and severely tortured: the first two are now said to be paralysed for life as a result of the torture; the third, a woman, was allegedly arrested and tortured for reportedly speaking to a foreign journalist. (21 May 1993)
163. With respect to these cases the Government replied on 26 May 1993 that Rinchen Gendun, Lobsang Yonten and a woman had been detained in accordance with the law for interrogation. The woman was released the same day. The reason for detaining the other two was that they had stolen a large number of State secrets and engaged for a long time in separatist activities, which directly threatened China's national security. The judicial organ of China would look further into the case and handle it properly in accordance with the law. The arrests had nothing to do with the visit to Tibet by the European Community envoys.
164. In the above-mentioned letter of 26 August (see para. 146) the Special Rapporteur communicated to the Government additional information he had received with regard to the third person arrested together with Rinchen Gendun and Lobsang Yonten, whose name was Damchoe Pemmo, a Lhasa trader in her mid-twenties. She was pregnant when she was detained and reportedly miscarried a week later after police forced her to remain standing for at least 12 hours and beat her with electric batons in the Seitru detention centre.
165. In the evening of 27 March 1993 in the village of Taoyuan, Lijia township, in Xunyang county of Shaanxi province, a group of police officers broke into a religious meeting attended by some 26 local Christians and five others who had come from the neighbouring county of Ankang. Without explanation, the police reportedly started beating those present with truncheons, including a nine-year-old boy. The five Christians from Ankang, including a 22-year-old man named Lai Manping, were violently beaten before being taken to the local police station. Lai Manping was released a few days later but died shortly after as a result of the injuries sustained. Over 90 Christians were said to have been arrested in the area following the incident. (25 May 1993)
166. On 28 May 1993 the Government replied that three peasants from Ankang city in Shaanxi province, including a 21-year-old man named Lai Manping, had organized an unlawful gathering at the village of Taoyuan, Luhe district, in Xunyang county of Shaanxi province. The gathering, which disturbed the local social order, was outlawed by the local public security organ on 28 March. Mr. Lai was beaten on his bottom by local people with a bamboo pole for his wrongdoing and, as a result, he was injured slightly. He died of a heart attack on 6 April 1993. His death had nothing to do with the slight injury. Moreover, the report that 26 Christians were beaten by the police and over 90 were arrested was totally groundless.
167. In the above-mentioned letter of 26 August the Special Rapporteur communicated to the Government additional information he had received with regard to this case, according to which the incident had occurred in the evening of 27 March 1993 in the village of Taoyuan, in Xunyang county, when a group of police officers broke into a religious meeting attended by some 26 local Christians and five others who had come from the neighbouring county of Ankang. Without explanation, police reportedly started beating those present with truncheons and put handcuffs on the five Christians from Ankang, two of whom were women. The Ankang Christians, including Lai Manping, were then repeatedly beaten by police. The local Christians were reportedly forced to take part in the beating, under threat of being beaten themselves. The Ankang Christians were then held for eight days in a local police station. Lai Manping was allegedly in a very bad state owing to the beatings and was released when police realized he might die in custody. He crawled a few kilometres away from the police station and died shortly after being found by local farmers.
168. On 28 November 1993 the Government reiterated the information provided on 8 May 1993.
169. Liu Gang, a former student leader imprisoned at the Lingynan No. 2 labour-reform detachment in Liapning prison, was reported to be in very poor health as the result of continuous ill-treatment and harsh conditions of detention. Despite the fact that he suffered from heart and stomach trouble, psoriasis and a prolapse of the anus, he had reportedly been denied appropriate medical treatment. It was further reported that Liu Gang was subjected to severe ill-treatment, including electric shocks, after seeing his relatives on 2 October 1992, allegedly for telling them how he was being treated. (25 May 1993)
170. Lodoe Phuntsok, a security assistant at the Lhasa city hospital and the Bharkor local police station, was reportedly arrested on 23 May 1993 for suspected involvement in "counter-revolutionary" activities and taken to the Seitru (Sei Chu or fourth unit), detention centre in Sangyip, north-east of Lhasa. (13 September 1993)
171. On 25 October 1993 the Government replied with respect to this case that Lodoe Phuntsok had been detained on 20 May 1993 by the Tibet Autonomous Region public security organs for engaging in unlawful activities with the objective of dividing the country and overthrowing the Government. As he had acknowledged his guilt and his conduct had been good he had been released. He had received good treatment while under investigation.
Observations
172. The consistency of the reports reaching the Special Rapporteur and his predecessor over the years compels acknowledgement of the serious grounds for concern about the persistence of an extensive problem of torture and severe ill-treatment of prisoners in various parts of China, despite the existence of legal provisions aimed at repressing it. The Special Rapporteur is aware of the relevant conclusions and recommendations of the Committee against Torture (A/48/44, paras. 423-429) and associates himself with these, in particular the recommendations aimed at preventing prolonged incommunicado detention and bringing to justice persons responsible for torture. The Special Rapporteur recommends that, in accordance with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, resort to prolonged solitary confinement and the use of shackles should be abandoned.