The ruling Chinese Communist Party, which has ushered in the harshest crackdown on critics yet under President Xi Jinping, has largely ignored a United Nations treaty banning all forms of torture or cruel and degrading punishment, an overseas rights group said in a recent report. "Torture and ill-treatment or cruel punishment in China remain rampant and worrisome, and authorities have continued to use many forms of torture against [rights activists]," the Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) said in its annual report. While the U.N. Committee against Torture reviewed China’s implementation of its treaty obligations under the Torture Convention last November, Chinese police "have largely ignored this treaty," the group said. Read more
