China, which is believed to be conducting the highest number of executions in the world, said today that it has given death penalty to an "extremely small number" of criminals for serious offences in the last 10 years.
In a work report delivered to National People's Congress today, Chief Justice of China's Supreme Court Zhou Qiang said the capital punishment had been strictly controlled and applied prudently since 2007.
In a major judicial reform in SPC reserved the right to review all death penalty decisions handed out by lower courts.
The report however did not give an exact number of cases where death sentences had been applied.
It said courts had strengthened efforts to protect human rights in judicial practice.
Rights groups like Amnesty International in the past accused China of committing highest number of executions of prisoners whose organs were also made available for the needy.
In 2011, China dropped thedeathpenaltyfor 13 economic- related non-violentcrimesm,including smuggling cultural relics, gold and silver; carrying out fraud related to financial bills; forging or selling forged exclusive value-added tax invoices; teaching criminal methods; and robbing ancient cultural ruins.
Later in 2014 China had removed capital punishment for ninemore crimes, including smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials or counterfeit currencies, raising funds by means of fraud, forcing people into prostitution, obstructing police and military officials, fabricating rumours during wartime.
Instead of the death penalty, those convicted will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the new law said.
In 2015, China had banned the harvesting oforgansfrom executedprisonersfororgantransplantsand orderedall hospitals stop usingorgansfromdeath-rowprisoners.
The ban came amid criticism over the high rate of executions to cater to the heavy demand for organs.
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