‘Terror attacks down, threat still high’ Chinese cops admit to torture of suspect who died in detention

Beijing, March 21: The number of violent attacks by “terrorist cells” in China had dropped due to increased security measures, state media reported on Tuesday, however it also cited experts as saying the level of attempted violence remained high.

China says it faces a serious threat from violent extremism, particularly in its western region of Xinjiang, where hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in unrest between mostly Muslim ethnic Uighurs and majority Han Chinese.

Officials say there is a campaign by separatists there whowant to set up an independent state called East Turkestan. However, rights groups doubt the existence of a coherent militant group in Xinjiang and say Uighur anger at repressive Chinese policies is more to blame for the unrest.

“Violent attacks involving or orchestrated by terroristcells” dropped in 2016, the China Daily reported, citing data from the Law Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. However, Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert, said, “People should realise that more attacks have been foiled at the planning stage.” Beijing, March 21: Police in central China’s Henan province have issued a rare statement admitting that some officers may have tortured a suspect who died under detention, local media reported on Tuesday.

“On March 12, 2017, a suspect died while our bureau’s criminal investigation squad was handling a case of a telecommunications fraud ring,” Wenxian county police said on its Twitter-like Weibo account.

“The People’s Police handling the case are suspected of using torture to extract confessions and collect evidence,” the March 13 statement said, adding that personnel found to have violated laws would be “resolutely punished.”

The notice was viewed online more than 13 million times, Global Times newspaper noted on Tuesday, with most Weibo commenters praising the bureau for its openness about misconduct.