Professor Liu Huawen Interviewed by CGTN on the Zhang Yulin Case in Jiangxi Province

 

 

On August 16, 2020, Professor Liu Huawen, Deputy Director of CASS Institute of International Law and Executive Director of CASS Center for Human Rights Studies, was interviewed by the China Global TV Network (CGTN) program “China 24” on the Zhang Yulin Case in Jiangxi Province. In the interview, Professor pointed out that the Chinese Government attaches great importance to judicial fairs and have corrected a number of cases of miscarriage of justice in recent years. China is a state party to the UN Convention against Torture. Especially in recent years, China has taken the protection of human rights and the prohibition of torture as one of the objectives of the judicial reform and established the principle of exclusion of illegal evidence in its Criminal Procedure Law. The key issue here is to ensure the implementation of the relevant laws in practice. In recent years, China has strengthened training of judicial personnel on the prohibition of torture and extensively utilized the Internet and big data technologies, such as the audio and video recording of the interrogation process, to prevent the occurrence of torture. He pointed out that, in the current case, Mr. Zhang Yuhuan has already been declared innocent and has applied for state compensation, which is a lawful right of the victim of miscarriage of justice. Monetary compensation, although necessary and useful, does not constitute a sufficient relief to the victim. Mr. Zhang Yuhuan also demanded a thorough investigation of the case. The state must carry out legal investigations into the alleged acts of torture in this case and bring those responsible for such acts to justice. Only in this way can the sense of justice of the victim and their family members be satisfied and acts of torture effectively prevented.