China has a network of over 100 unofficial "police stations" around the world, according to a Spanish civil rights group.
The Madrid-based Safeguard Defenders reported in September that 54 such stations allegedly existed around the world, prompting police investigations in at least 12 countries including Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.
In a report published on Monday, the civil rights group said it had identified 48 additional stations, 11 of which are in Italy. Other newly identified stations were in Croatia, Serbia and Romania, it said.
Italy, which is home to 330,000 Chinese citizens, hosts the highest number, 11, of these police stations, The Guardian reports. The first one was set up in Milan in 2016, it said.
According to the report, China has said the offices are merely “service stations” set up to assist Chinese citizens with bureaucratic procedures such as renewing a passport or driving licence.
Safeguard Defenders claimed that while the stations were not directly run by Beijing, “some statements and policies are starting to show a clearer guidance from the central government in encouraging their establishment and policies."
The civil rights group claimed that the unofficial police stations are used by China to “harass, threaten, intimidate and force targets to return to China for persecution”.
The Guardian report said that the investigation carried out by Safeguard Defenders was based on publicly available Chinese statements and data, and was limited to stations established by local Chinese public security authorities in countries where there is a large Chinese community.