Man stages court sit-ins while striving for justice
Source: Xinhua |
February 18, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH his gray hair dyed black, Zhao Zuohai looks a bit younger than several months ago when he was released from jail, though the scar on his head is still visible.
The scar is a constant reminder of the police interrogations he endured in 1999 when officers forced him to confess to a murder he did not commit.
Zhao was found innocent and released last May, as the man he was alleged to have murdered turned up alive. His case later became one of the top 10 in the country used to promote knowledge of the Constitution and laws nationwide.
After hitting the headlines, Zhao returned to his hometown in Zhecheng County, Henan Province, and started his new life as a "citizen agent." Many accusers or accused from all over China now turn to him, asking him to sit in court and help to ensure just rulings are issued.
"I know little about law, but judges know me, and I can sit there to remind them of justice," he said, adding that this is the least he can do to help others.
Since last May, Zhao has accepted more than 150 cases in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and many other places. According to Zhao, judges were cautious in their rulings on the cases he was involved in. He said he would travel throughout the country to help avoid the type of injustice he had suffered. Of course he expects those inviting him to pay his travel expenses.
"I'm willing to help free of charge, but if I had to pay for the tickets myself, I would have spent all my compensation," he said, laughing.
Of the 650,000 yuan (US$99,000) in compensation he received, he has spent a large sum on his eldest son's marriage. He said he will support all of his children whenever they are at loose ends.
"I missed 11 years of their lives. I think I owe them," said Zhao, who is living in a two-story building provided by the local government.
After he was jailed, his wife remarried, and two of his four children were adopted and the other two left to become migrant workers.
Three returned home when he was released.
Zhang Liyong, head of the Higher People's Court in Henan Province, visited Zhao last June and bowed to him as an apology.
The scar is a constant reminder of the police interrogations he endured in 1999 when officers forced him to confess to a murder he did not commit.
Zhao was found innocent and released last May, as the man he was alleged to have murdered turned up alive. His case later became one of the top 10 in the country used to promote knowledge of the Constitution and laws nationwide.
After hitting the headlines, Zhao returned to his hometown in Zhecheng County, Henan Province, and started his new life as a "citizen agent." Many accusers or accused from all over China now turn to him, asking him to sit in court and help to ensure just rulings are issued.
"I know little about law, but judges know me, and I can sit there to remind them of justice," he said, adding that this is the least he can do to help others.
Since last May, Zhao has accepted more than 150 cases in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and many other places. According to Zhao, judges were cautious in their rulings on the cases he was involved in. He said he would travel throughout the country to help avoid the type of injustice he had suffered. Of course he expects those inviting him to pay his travel expenses.
"I'm willing to help free of charge, but if I had to pay for the tickets myself, I would have spent all my compensation," he said, laughing.
Of the 650,000 yuan (US$99,000) in compensation he received, he has spent a large sum on his eldest son's marriage. He said he will support all of his children whenever they are at loose ends.
"I missed 11 years of their lives. I think I owe them," said Zhao, who is living in a two-story building provided by the local government.
After he was jailed, his wife remarried, and two of his four children were adopted and the other two left to become migrant workers.
Three returned home when he was released.
Zhang Liyong, head of the Higher People's Court in Henan Province, visited Zhao last June and bowed to him as an apology.
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