Canberra, March 5: An Australian broadcaster has suspended the broadcast of two Chinese state TV news channels- CGTN and CCTV- after receiving human rights complaints against them. As per reports, the said broadcaster SBS took the step after receiving a letter from a human rights organisation called Safeguard Defenders that alleged the both the Chinese channel were involved in 'forced confession' of prisoners under inhumane conditions.China Arrests Australian Journalist Cheng Lei for Allegedly Supplying 'Country's Secrets' Overseas.

“These broadcasts involved the extraction, packaging and airing of forced and false confessions of prisoners held under conditions of duress and torture,” SBS reported the letter from Safeguard Defenders as saying, as reported by Reuters. The channels have been accused of as many as 56 such forced confession between 2013 to 2020. Chinese Official Shares Picture Allegedly Showing Australian Soldier Holding Knife to Throat of Afghan Child, Australia PM Scott Morrison Seeks Apology From China.

Following which SBS, which airs a 15-minute CGTN English news service and 30-minute CCTV Mandarin on Saturday, has dropped it. "Given the serious concerns it raises, and the complexity of the material involved, we have made the decision to suspend the broadcast of the overseas-sourced CGTN and CCTV news bulletins while we undertake an assessment of these services,” it said in a statement.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2021 05:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).