LONDON, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - China's human rights record is getting worse because of, not despite, the looming Beijing Olympics as it bids to present a united front by cracking down on dissent, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

With just over four months until the opening ceremony, Amnesty warned it was increasingly unlikely the games would improve rights in China and urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and world leaders to speak out publicly against violations.

Politicians risk being implicated in a 'conspiracy of silence' if they fail to address issues such as the crackdown in Tibet, the London-based human rights group said in a new report, which also contained fresh criticism of the IOC.

'Unless the Chinese authorities take steps to redress the situation urgently, a positive human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics looks increasingly beyond reach,' the report said.

'It is increasingly clear that much of the current wave of repression is occurring not in spite of the Olympics but actually because of the Olympics.'

A pre-Olympic crackdown on critics -- who the report says are targeted 'in an apparent attempt to portray a 'stable' or 'harmonious' image to the world by August 2008' -- had 'deepened not lessened because of the Olympics,' Amnesty chief Irene Khan added.

Examples include the case of Ye Guozhu, serving a four-year jail sentence after he applied for permission to protest against forced evictions in Beijing to clear the way for Olympic building works, Amnesty said.

It called on politicians and the IOC to speak out on the situation in China and Tibet, hit by three weeks of bloody protests against China.

Amnesty urged the IOC to take a 'public stand' with China ahead of the August 8-24 Olympics, and called on politicians to address the issue 'lest the silent presence of world leaders with influence be used as a tacit endorsement of the human rights violations.'

The watchdog had criticised the IOC last August, a year before the games started, saying it was deeply concerned about its 'apparent reluctance' to take a stronger stand on human rights.

This time, Amnesty charged that, while the IOC had highlighted what it said was Chinese progress on human rights several times, it had been reluctant to speak publicly about violations.

'Amnesty International believes it is not appropriate to publicly refer to progress in certain areas while ignoring a marked deterioration in others,' the report said.

The study also highlighted what it said was the use by officials of security concerns as a pretext for clamping down on dissenters.

Earlier this month, Chinese authorities said two 'terrorist' plots from the Muslim-majority north-west had been foiled.

But Amnesty said it was unclear why the alleged plans were only revealed two months after they were uncovered and said the authorities had provided 'no concrete evidence to support these assertions'.

It called on China to release 'prisoners of conscience', allow freedom of the press and make its use of the death penalty more transparent.

In a separate, shorter report on Tibet, it called for the release of peaceful protestors, full details on deaths and injuries in the recent violence and for China to address the underlying causes of demonstrations.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters ahead of the report's publication that Amnesty 'holds prejudice against China, so you can imagine what kind of report it will release'.

She added that China is 'a country of the rule of law' and could not stop implementing the law because of the games.

'Any attempt to put pressure on China or even threaten China regarding the Olympic Games will not succeed,' she said.