31,527 prisoners granted amnesty in the past five years

A total of 31,527 prisoners were granted amnesty across China in the past five years, a work report of the Supreme People's Court said on Friday.

Chinese courts have strengthened efforts to protect human rights in judicial practices, according to the report delivered by Chief Justice Zhou Qiang at a plenary meeting of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress.

Death penalty decisions were strictly reviewed to make sure that death sentences only apply to an extremely small number of criminals for extremely severe offenses, it said.