Amnesty International Friday appealed to the Chinese government to stay the execution of a Hong Kong resident the human rights groups says was tortured into making a murder confession.
Amnesty said Zhuo Xiaojun's final appeal against a death sentence had been heard at a court in the southeastern province of Fujian on Tuesday, although no verdict had been announced.
The London-based group warned that if the sentence was confirmed, Zhu could be executed within days. It appealed to the Chinese authorities to urgently review the case and investigate allegations of torture.
"The conviction was based on confessions Zhuo testifies were extracted from him under torture, including being hung by the hands from the bars of a door with his feet locked in 50 kilogram shackles whilst he was beaten, kicked and attacked with electric batons," said the Amnesty statement.
"The witnesses in the trial also allege that they gave testimonies under duress. The confessions are also reportedly contradicted by the forensic evidence and other key evidence is also reportedly missing from files."
Amnesty said Zhuo was originally sentenced to death on September 7, 1990 after a trial in the Fujian capital Fuzhou.
It said Zhuo had been caught up in a fight outside his home in Changle county of Fujian in December 1989, in which two people died.
Amnesty said the conviction was overturned by a higher court in January 1992 and a retrial was ordered. It said the new trial reopened in January 1993 and adjourned for seven years for "supplementary investigations."
The statement said Zhuo was finally re-convicted on January 14 this year and sentenced to death following what Amnesty called an "unfair trial" -- BEIJING (AFP)
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