2016年CRI Better Accountability System Urged after Retrials

The wrongful conviction of Huugjilt is one of the most notorious cases of judicial 1 injustice 2 in China in the recent decades. The teenager was declared guilty of raping 3 and then murdering a woman in a public toilet, and subsequently executed.

He was posthumously 4 acquitted 5 of the crimes in December 2014, while the real perpetrator was apprehended 6 in 2005 and was given the death penalty last year.

Concerns were raised earlier this week after the north China region announced penalties for officials responsible for the wrongful conviction and execution.

Of the 27 blacklisted officials, 26 received administrative 7 penalties including admonitions and records of demerit, while Feng Zhiming, who had led the investigation 8, is to be subject to further investigation on charges of job-related crimes.

But some, including the victim's parents, complained the penalties are lighter 9 than expected, and vague.

"Anyone found guilty should pay a price. It was the mistake of a whole team rather than a single person. The penalties should be different according to what role one played in making the conviction."

"It's still unclear what the basis of the penalties is or whether those investigators 10 have been deprived of the merits they gained for handling the case two decades ago."

Some members of the public are also questioning why none of those involved had been held criminally responsible for making the conviction.

He Feng, the former vice 12 director of Hohhot Public Security Bureau, took part in the retrial of Huugjilt's case.

He says there was insufficient 13 evidence that could lead to the conviction of officials.

"A criminal conviction should contain who the offender 14 is, what's the relation between the offender and the victim. It also should make it clear why, where and when the offense 15 was taken. But in this case, we have no idea who tortured Huugjilt, what damages the torture had caused to him, let alone a forensic 16 identification."

Law professor He Jiahong with Renmin University said the judicial authorities have made improvements, but more needs to be done.

"We need to establish a sound system to prevent wrongful convictions and need to do more to address judicial transparency. The judicial organs had done better in the retrial of Huugjilt's case than before, but the improvement was limited and it's the public pressure that forced them to make improvement."

The professor, in particular, suggested more information should be made public in such retrials to ease people's doubts.

"No one is saying how the positions of those involved will change. In fact, the public is eager to know whether involvement in the case will affect the officials' careers. People are especially wondering about the chief investigator 11 Feng Zhiming."

He also said greater efforts should be made to set up standards to ensure justice and transparency during a retrial as well as to decide when any accountability process will start.

It's widely expected a better system will be in place when the accountability process gets underway against another infamous 17 conviction that had left a Sichuan native Chen Man wrongfully behind bars for 23 years.

Chen was sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve 18 for arson 19 and murder in Hainan in 1994. He was cleared of the charges and released from prison on Monday.

For CRI, this is Luo Bin 20.