Arrest warrants for 3 cops over torture case
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Authorities in Henan province have issued arrest warrants for three police officers suspected of torturing Zhao Zuohai, a man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and jailed about 10 years.
Two of the officers, Guo Shouhai and Zhou Minghan, have been detained while the third cop, Li Deling, is still at large. They are suspected of torturing Zhao, 57, into confessing to a murder 10 years ago.
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Wang Jianmin, Party chief of the political and legislative aff airs committee of Shangqiu city, shakes hands with Zhao Zuohai (front left) on May 11, 2010. Wang apologized to Zhao for a wrongful conviction that jailed him for the past decade. [China Daily] |
Authorities have also started a probe into the wrongful imprisonment on Wednesday, said Song Guoqiang, an official with the people's procuratorate in Shangqiu city.
Song said the procuratorate has questioned everyone else involved in Zhao's conviction at the local public security bureau, procuratorate and court.
The Henan Provincial Higher People's Court has also promised to penalize the judges responsible for the wrongful conviction.
Authorities apologized to Zhao Zuohai on Tuesday and gave him 10,000 yuan ($1,464) in compensation.
He is expected to receive further compensation in accordance with the State compensation law. The amount will work out to be about 450,000 yuan ($65,904).
In October 1997, Zhao Zuohai and his neighbor Zhao Zhenshang had a fight in their home county of Zhecheng, after which Zhao Zhenshang went missing, a court statement showed.
A year later, in May 1999, a headless and highly decomposed body was found in the village. Zhao Zuohai was arrested and convicted in 2002 of murdering Zhao Zhenshang.
He was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. The sentence was later commuted to a 29-year imprisonment.
Zhao Zhenshang returned to the village on April 30 this year. The Higher People's Court in Henan confirmed Zhao Zhenshang's identity on May 7 and acquitted Zhao Zuohai.
