China sentenced to death at least 3,152 people and executed at least 1,876 in 1997, the report said.
The number of executions soared to 4,367 in 1996 during China's "Strike-Hard" anti-crime campaign, then returned to more normal levels last year, according the London-based human rights group.
Amnesty said its statistics were incomplete because they were based on reports in the Chinese press, and authorities do not allow all executions to be reported. The total number of executions in China is a state secret.
The report said trials in China often fail to meet international standards of fairness because confessions are extracted through torture, defendants are denied early access to lawyers, and trials are rushed through.
09-09-98
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