New rule allows lawyers to attend interrogations

Beijing - In a major effort to prevent torture and forced confessions, local prosecuting authorities have published the first regulation to guarantee suspects the right to have their attorneys present during interrogations.

In line with the regulation introduced on a trial basis by the Beijing People's Procuratorate's Second Branch, the first of its kind in the capital city, the procedure will be applied only to suspects on bail.

According to the regulation, only those licensed attorneys who have been hired by suspects will be allowed to attend interrogations. The rules are likely to be gradually broadened to apply to interrogations of minor and foreign suspects.