Chinese govt to pass a law for secret detention of suspected terrorists

China will pass a law today [Wednesday] that allows the secret detention of people suspected of terrorism, corruption and endangering state security for up to 37 days.

The updated Criminal Procedure Law codifies and legalises the widespread practice of hiding suspects in jails and holding them without telling their families where, and why, they are being detained.

The law, which has watered down the detention period from a proposed six months, will be voted on by China's parliament, the National People's Congress. It is expected to come into force next year.

It states that suspects can be put "under monitored residency", outside the prison system, and that families should be informed within 24 hours, unless it would "impede the investigation".

Last year, Ai Weiwei, the Chinese artist, became the most high-profile person to be "disappeared" into an unknown detention centre, for what the government later said was tax evasion.

"Already, many thousands of people in China are being held in secret and are at great risk of being tortured," said Catherine Baber, of Amnesty International, the human rights group.

"These thousands include petitioners seeking justice, members of underground churches, and political activists," she added.

The new law does also, for the first time, urge police to "safeguard human rights" and introduces provisions against collecting evidence under duress and forcing suspects to sign confessions.