Human Rights Watch on Tuesday has accused China's anti-corruption watchdog of using torture to force confessions.

Sleep deprivation, stress positions, and solitary confinement are among the torture tools utilized by Chinese authorities in their fight against corruption, according to a report published by the Human Rights watchdog.

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President Xi Jinping's war on corruption has seen more than 11 million people punished since 2013. Many experts have described the campaign as a political purge against people opposed to the regime.

"President Xi has built his anti-corruption campaign on an abusive and illegal detention system," Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said.

She added that forcing of confessions from suspects through torture will not bring an end to corruption but will only serve to end any confidence in China's judicial system. 

At least 11 people have died while in the custody of the dreaded Commission for Discipline Inspection. The extra-legal detention system allows anti-corruption officials to hold suspects indefinitely. 

Every one of China's approximately 88 million Communist party members can be detained in a system called 'shuanggui', which translates to reporting to a designated place and time to be held incommunicado in often padded and windowless cubicles.

"If you sit, you have to sit for 12 hours straight. My legs became swollen and my buttocks were raw and started oozing pus," a former detainee confided.

Government officials are the main casualties of the anti-corruption drive. Bankers, university administrators, entertainment industry figures, and any other Communist party can also be put under detention.

"Shuanngui not only further undermines China's judiciary, but also makes a mockery of it," Richardson added.

Tagschina, Human Rights Watch, Chinese human rights