U.S. and China trade "human rights abuses" accusations

U.S. and China trade "human rights abuses" accusations

In addition, it said, U.S. intelligence agencies torture terrorist suspects and violate human rights in other countries by staging drone attacks and espionage.

Beijing's document on the situation of human rights in the United States came a day after the United States released its annual report on human rights in the world.

China, noted AFP, does not produce a report regarding human rights in other countries.

The U.S. State Department published its report on Thursday, stating that 2014 was marked by suffering and abuse of too many people.

The report specifically condemned violent extremism and utter disregard for human rights and life by groups such as the Islamic state, the Pakistani Taliban and Boko Haram.

It also pointed out that the governments of China, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia, among others, seeks to restrict the freedom and openness of the media and civil society development.

The report of the Chinese State Council, meanwhile, said that "money is a deciding factor in U.S. politics, and U.S. citizens' political rights are not properly protected."

Beijing also stated that America's judicial system and the police are racially biased, and that white police officers killed several unarmed African-Americans which last year sparked protests.

"Police killings of African-Americans have become a normal practice in the United States," said the report, also criticizing that country for cases of domestic violence and poverty.

The issue of human rights is a source of tension in Sino-American relations, according to reports. The U.S. introduced sanctions against Beijing after violations of democratic protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 that killed several hundred people, said AFP.

The U.S. report on human rights mainly deals with restrictions the Chinese government introduced regarding the freedom of speech and assembly.

When it comes to Serbia, Washington's report notes that the most serious human rights violations are related to discrimination and social violence against members of minority groups, particularly Roma, while harassment of journalists and pressure in the direction of self-censorship are also noticeable.

Another problem cited in the document is corruption in health care, education and some branches of government, while the legal system is described as inefficient, with long pretrial detention and ill treatment of prisoners.