Amnesty Report: China’s Abolition of Labor Camps a ‘Cosmetic Change’

Story highlights

Amnesty says China’s move to abolish labor camps may be a cosmetic change
Rights groups says Chinese authorities are expanding use of other types of arbitrary detention
China said on November 15 that it would close its labor camp system
Chinese government declines to comment on the report

Brainwashing centers

The report said interviews with petitioners and Falun Gong practitioners revealed abuses were continuing despite the closure of the camps.

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Some labor camps were being re-labeled as drug rehabilitation centers and released detainees were being sent to black jails — unofficial detention centers set up in places like hotels or abandoned buildings — or “brainwashing centers,” another form of arbitrary detention.

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Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Zhi told Amnesty International she was released from a labor camp in Harbin in June 2013 but on her release staff from a brainwashing center were waiting for her at the gate. Her family were able to intervene and prevented her from being taken away. She has since gone into hiding.

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“The Chinese authorities must immediately end all forms of arbitrary detention and ensure that laws protecting detainees are brought into line with international human rights standards,” Francis said.

“This needs to be a fundamental change in the policies that are at the root of the repression and which strip detainees of their most basic rights.”

This is an excerpt from CNN.
The original article can be found here.

Amnesty International