For years, Premier Exhibitions has maintained that the Chinese remains in its controversial "Bodies ... The Exhibition" not only came from people who died of natural causes but also were obtained legally by China's Dalian Medical University.

The terms of a settlement reached yesterday between the Atlanta-based company and the New York State Attorney General's Office indicate otherwise.

Premier acknowledged in a news release that it "cannot independently confirm that the individualized organs and body parts at the exhibition were not taken from executed prisoners."

Almost from the start, the traveling exhibit that opened in New York City in 2005 and just finished a successful seven-month run at the Carnegie Science Center generated protests from human rights activists, who warned that the Chinese cadavers could include executed political prisoners or those who had been tortured. Others questioned the ethics of displaying human bodies without consent.

Under the terms of the agreement, Premier will have to show written documentation demonstrating the source of each body and body part in any new exhibits brought into New York state. It will also have to provide cause of death and the donors' written consent.

In addition, the company will give full ticket refunds to prior visitors who might have skipped the exhibit at New York City's South Street Seaport had they been aware of the "questionable" origins of the bodies and parts on display.

Regarding the human remains obtained and displayed before yesterday's settlement, Premier will have to clearly disclose on its Web site, in all of its advertising and at the entrances of any New York exhibitions that it is not able to confirm that the bodies and parts being displayed "were not, or did not belong to, Chinese prisoners."

"The grim reality is that Premier Exhibitions has profited from displaying the remains of individuals who may have been tortured and executed in China," said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

The settlement, which rested on New York's deceptive business practices statute, is the result of a three-month official inquiry triggered in February by a segment on ABC News "20/20." In that report, reporter Brian Ross interviewed a man who described trips to various locations, including Chinese penal institutions, where bodies were sold for as little as $200.