Wednesday 1 April 2009

Suspicious deaths of inmates spur crackdown on prison conditions

Law enforcement authorities will crack down on conditions in detention centres and prisons across the mainland starting today, vowing that there will be no more suspicious deaths of inmates.

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Guanyu said...

Suspicious deaths of inmates spur crackdown on prison conditions

Fiona Tam
1 April 2009

Law enforcement authorities will crack down on conditions in detention centres and prisons across the mainland starting today, vowing that there will be no more suspicious deaths of inmates.

The three-month operation is in response to the fatal beating of a Yunnan man, 24, in February.

The Ministry of Public Security said on its website yesterday that the incident had taught a profound lesson to police officers at every level.

Li Qiaoming was beaten to death by prison bullies in the province less than two weeks after he was taken into custody for alleged illegal logging. Authorities initially attributed his death to an injury during a game of hide-and-seek, but later investigations revealed the bullies’ beating.

At least four suspicious deaths of detainees have surfaced during the past two months, all directly linked to custodial abuse.

Besides Li, one inmate each in Hunan, Shaanxi and Hainan provinces died behind bars at the hands of prison bullies.

The ministry said law enforcers should improve their work ethic and be more aware of laws and respect for rights, which it described as some of the chief failings of the police force.

It said police across the mainland would be re-educated, assessed and urged to reform.

Police officers “should improve their awareness of laws and regulations, pay attention to public opinions ... abandon their deep-rooted privileges and raise their understanding of human rights”, the ministry said.

A special working team from the ministry’s detention centre administration department would follow up on the campaign by conducting anonymous inspections of detention centres and prisons.

Deputy procurator general Jiang Jianchu has admitted that torture is common during investigations and detentions, and is so deep-rooted that it will be difficult to eradicate.

Zhou Guangquan, legislator of the National People’s Congress, suggested authorities tackle the problem at its root by separating prison administration from police duties and handing over custody management to a third party.

Mr. Zhou urged prosecutors to set up mechanisms to inspect prisons regularly and take care of detainees’ welfare.

In many cases, police officers running detention facilities use torture to extract confessions or evidence because of the immense pressure to resolve cases. The conflicting roles and police abuse of power were blamed for detainees’ deaths.