U.N. Will Question China on Human Rights

Shanghai — The United Nations has presented China with a long list of questions about its alleged human rights abuses.

China will have to answer the questions during two hearings in Geneva at the beginning of November.

The U.N. Committee against Torture excoriated China for the "continued pervasiveness" of torture "in the criminal justice system." It demanded a list of all the people detained in connection with the riots in Tibet in March, including their current location and convictions. It also asked why detainees were denied access to a doctor before and after trial.

"At least 30 persons were found guilty and sentenced less than six weeks after the events, please clarify the basis of these sentences," the committee asked.

It demanded full details about the number of people killed in the riots, which spread from Tibet into the neighboring provinces of Gansu, Sichuan, and Qinghai. Reports at the time suggested that over 100 people died in clashes with security forces.

The questions emerged after the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, made China's first address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.