Rape victim's mother wins labor camp lawsuit, China

A high court in central China's Hunan Province has ruled in favor of a rape victim's mother who sued a local authority for putting her in a labor camp. The Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court on Monday ordered the Yongzhou municipal re-education through labor commission to pay Tang Hui 2,941 yuan (478 U.S. dollars) in compensation for infringing upon her personal freedom and causing mental damages. The 40-year-old mother appealed to the higher people's court in April after the Yongzhou Intermediate People's Court denied her request for an apology and compensation from the re-education through labor commission. Tang was put into the labor camp after she publicly petitioned for harsher punishments for those found guilty of raping her daughter and forcing her into prostitution. Tang said she was relatively "satisfied" with the result but regretted that her demand for a written apology was refused. The court said the re-education through labor commission claimed to have already expressed an apology during the second trial on July 2. "I have found these past few days very tiring. Now, I just want to let all this go from my mind and have a good rest, not caring about anything else," Tang said after the sentence. Jiang Jianxiang, a legal representative for the re-education through labor commission in Yongzhou, said it would obey the verdict and hoped Tang could resume her normal life. In October 2006, Tang's then 11-year-old daughter was kidnapped, raped and forced into prostitution. She was rescued on Dec. 30, 2006. On June 5, 2012, the Hunan Provincial Higher People's Court sentenced two of the girl's kidnappers to death. Four others were given life sentences and another one received a 15-year prison term. Tang insisted on harsher punishments for all those found guilty. She was put in a labor camp in Yongzhou for "seriously disturbing social order and exerting a negative impact on society" after protesting in front of local government buildings on Aug. 2, 2012. She was sentenced to 18 months in the camp, but was released eight days later amid a public outcry urging her release. In January, the Yongzhou re-education through labor commission rejected her demand for state compensation for the time she spent in the camp. On Jan. 22, Tang filed a lawsuit at the Intermediate People's Court in Yongzhou in which she asked for 2,463.85 yuan in compensation, the same amount specified in her appeal. Her case was heard on Jan. 28, with courtroom proceedings lasting a single day. On April 12, the court ruled that Tang was not entitled to the compensation she requested. She then appealed. Re-education through labor allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial. In recent years, with Chinese people's awareness of human rights increased, the practice has been widely questioned. Experts have argued that it contradicts high-level laws. In January, China said it would reform the controversial program.