Guard at China’s 'black' jail says he raped detainee
Beijing: A guard at an unofficial jail in here has pleaded guilty to raping a young detainee, an activist said on Thursday, in a case that has put the spotlight on the "black jails" where a growing number of people seeking justice from the government end up.
The guard told a district court yesterday he raped the 21-year-old student in August after she came to Beijing to ask the central government for help, local human rights activist Liu Dejun said.
Liu was not in court but was told of the guilty plea by people who attended the one-day trial. A verdict is expected within 30 days.
"He ruined my life," the woman told journalists after the trial, the Beijing News reported today. The woman, from central Anhui province, had been expelled from college because of poor exam scores and came to Beijing to ask the government to reinstate her.
Thousands of Chinese come to Beijing every year to air complaints ignored by local authorities, but human rights groups say hundreds are rounded up, often near the complaints office, by provincial officials who fear the complaints may get them in trouble.
The government has denied that the "black jails" exist, and the term was not mentioned at the trial, Liu said. In August, the ruling Communist Party ordered local officials to meet regularly with people complaining of injustices, in an effort to stop them from coming to Beijing.
Bureau Report