Where’s the proof? Chinese man accused of rape seeks justice after 23 years and four trials
- Jin Zhehong, now 50, says previous confessions, which were used as evidence, were tortured out of him
- Amid a rehearing by the Jilin High People’s Court, both prosecution and defence lawyers agree ‘the facts were unclear and the evidence is insufficient’
A decades-old murder case in China’s far northeast has been reopened as the defendant professes his innocence and says previous confessions, which had been used as evidence, were tortured out of him.
The case, involving the 1995 rape and murder of a 20-year-old woman in Jiyong county, Jilin province, has already been the subject of three trials, and been put under judicial review twice.
The defendant, Jin Zhehong, 50, has been in custody for 23 years and sentenced to death four times.
On Wednesday, the hearing was restarted for the fourth time by the Jilin High People’s Court and lasted more than three hours, Legal Daily reported. The court did not announce a judgment, though Jin’s lawyer expressed optimism.
He repeatedly accused the investigators of using torture to extract confessions out of him
Both prosecution and defence lawyers agreed that “the facts were unclear and the evidence is insufficient”.