Rights group, relatives accuse China of using torture in prison

A human rights organization claims China still employs torture on prisoners to coerce confessions, employing methods such as beatings and denial of medical treatment, according to a report released on Wednesday. The daughter of detained individual Yin Dengzhen recounted to AFP that her mother worries she could die in jail due to mistreatment.

China's secretive judicial system has faced criticism for the disappearance of suspects, the persecution of dissidents, and the habitual coercion of confessions via torture. A recent study by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) group analyzed the accounts of 209 prisoners from 2016 to 2025 who claimed they were tortured while incarcerated, despite laws prohibiting these practices.

Prisoners of conscience were singled out in the report. One-fifth of the detainees reported being beaten, while 15 percent said they were tortured to extract confessions. Thirty-five percent of those questioned by the CHRD stated they were denied proper medical care, with 16 individuals passing away in custody as a consequence. In a case involving Yin Dengzhen, a 58-year-old former vegetable vendor serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence for "making provocations and causing disturbances," her daughter Xia Beibei told AFP that her mother was denied release due to medical reasons despite suffering from lymphoma and being unable to eat or walk normally.

Xia reported that Yin had been hospitalized after losing over 35 kilograms (80 pounds) in temporary detention while awaiting sentencing in central China's Hubei province. However, authorities claimed a medical examination conducted post-sentencing revealed Yin to be "in good health," thus permitting her transfer to a women's prison in Wuhan.

Xia emphasized that her mother was extremely pessimistic in the months leading up to her sentencing, believing the authorities' rationale for imprisoning her was to let her perish there. The report alleges that prisoners were also deprived of sleep, food, and water, subjected to freezing temperatures and electric shocks, confined in iron cages, and hung by their wrists.

Torture cases were documented by the CHRD in each province and special administrative region of China, except for Macau. Chinese law mandates that torture and the use of force to extract confessions are punishable by up to three years in prison, with harsher penalties for any injuries or fatalities inflicted. Beijing is also a signatory to the UN Convention against Torture, but the nation has frequently been accused of failing to enforce and implement legislation to eradicate such abuse.

The report, titled "Swept Under the Rug: Systemic Failures to End Torture in the People's Republic of China," found no evidence of prosecutions or disciplinary actions against those responsible. The Chinese government did not respond promptly to AFP's request for comment.