Imposition of the Death Penalty and its Impact in China_ The Rights Practice_ April 2022 Imposition of the Death Penalty and its Impact in the People’s Republic of China 1. In China, the death penalty is veiled in secrecy. Death penalty statistics are a state secret. Accurate and disaggregated data on the numbers of individuals sentenced to death is unavailable. There is a lack of transparency around the conditions in detention for individuals sentenced to death, a lack of information provided to families, as well as the treatment of bodies of the executed. This lack of information limits both Chinese domestic and international understanding of the full impact of the death penalty. The Chinese government cannot guarantee that the rights of those facing death are protected. 2. However, information provided by individuals facing death sentences, their family members and lawyers reveals that China falls far short of guaranteeing the minimum standards as set out in international law. 3. Detainees facing the death penalty are kept in cells with other prisoners and are normally shackled. This routine use of restraints violates international law. 4. Family members and lawyers face obstacles meeting individuals in detention. Indigent prisoners are discriminated against on the grounds of economic status as they are less likely to be provided with adequate legal assistance. 5. Without reliable information on the treatment of bodies of executed individuals there are valid concerns that the practice of organ harvesting without consent is ongoing. There is evidence to suggest that the procurement of organs in China can happen before a prisoner would be considered medically dead by international standards. This goes against the right to be treated with human dignity. 1) Treatment of individuals sentenced to death, including conditions on death row and access to family members and legal representatives. 6. There is lack of transparency surrounding conditions for individuals facing the death penalty in China.1 There is no official data or information on conditions for detainees of lesser crimes or those specifically facing the death penalty. There is no independent monitoring of detention centres and little access from outsiders. However, experience from detainees, lawyers and family members reveal that conditions do not meet international standards and that the suffering of prisoners is not minimised. 7. There is no specific “death row” in China. 2 Prisoners are held in detention centres (kanshuosuo) between sentencing and execution. Individuals sentenced to death are kept in large cells with other inmates in pre-trial detention and those with short-term prison sentences. However, individuals sentenced to death are normally shackled. The extensive use of handcuffs and shackles violates international standards. Other inmates are expected to help shackled prisoners with eating and other functions. 8. China’s 1990 Detention Centre Regulations set out conditions in detention.3 A new Detention Centre Law has been drafted and was made open for public consultation in 2017. This would replace the existing 1990 Detention Centre Regulations but the law has not yet been finalised.4 The 1990 Regulations do not provide the necessary guarantees for the protection of detainees when using methods of restraint. There are no specific provisions that require detainees to be visited by a doctor when deciding to adopt these methods. The UN Committee Against The Rights Practice. “Lack of Transparency on the Death Penalty Impacts Human Rights”. March 2021. https://www.rightspractice.org/news/lack-of-transparency-on-the-death-penalty-in-china-impacts-human-rights 2 The Rights Practice, “Respect for Minimum Standards? Report on the Death Penalty in China”. 10 October, 2020. https://www.rightspractice.org/news/respect-for-minimum-standards-report-on-the-death-penalty-in-china 3 State Council Regulations of Criminal Detention Centres of the People’s Republic of China. 1990. 4 Detention Centre Law of the People’s Republic of China. Draft. https://npcobserver.com/legislation/detention-center-law/ 1 2