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	Lawyers call for reform of laojiao system by Zhao Yinan China Daily   2012-08-16   Prominent lawyers are joining those now calling on China to reform its controversial laojiao system, or re-education through labor system, which allows suspects to be sentenced to forced labor without first undergoing a trial.   The system, which has been in operation for more than 50 years, again became the center of a fierce debate after it had been used to detain a mother who was appealing for justice in her daughter’s rape case.   Ten legal professionals sent an open letter to the government on Tuesday warning that the punishment can lead to abuses of power.   "Standing regulations do not require laojiao management committees to release a written verdict to explain how their decisions were made, so it’s difficult to know if a decision was fair," said Li Fangping, an author of the letter and a Beijing lawyer known for his work in protecting the rights of people with HIV.   The letter was sent to the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice. In it, the lawyers wrote that the laojiao system is neither transparent nor well-supervised.   Both ministries have subordinate bodies that oversee the system, which can force a person to spend from one to three years in confinement and undergo compulsory labor. If authorities conclude the subject of laojiao has not been sufficiently re-educated, the sentence can be extended another year.   Li, who said the ministries have not sent him a reply to the letter, said all suspects should receive legal assistance when their cases are under review. He also said people who are older than 60 should be exempt from punishment under laojiao.   He said any measure that could be used to deprive a person of his freedom, such as detention, should be subject to judicial review.   The letter came amid a storm of criticism that arose after the mother of a rape victim was made to undergo laojiao for repeatedly petitioning authorities.   Tang Hui, 39, was accused of "seriously disturbing the social order and exerting a negative impact on society" and sent on Aug 2 to a laojiao center in Hunan province’s Yongzhou to serve an 18-month sentence.   Tang had accused the city police of falsifying evidence in order to reduce the sentences handed down to those who were responsible for the kidnap, rape and forced prostitution of her daughter, who was 11 years old when the crimes occurred.   The mother was released on Friday out of consideration for the fact that "her 17-year-old daughter is still a minor and requires her mother’s care", according to a provincial publicity department statement.   The case outraged the public and prompted more than 700,000 posts on Sina Weibo, a popular micro-blogging service in China. Most of the messages expressed sympathy for her and called for justice to be served.
	Mali: Islamist Armed Groups spread fear in North by Human Rights Watch   (Nairobi) – Three Islamist armed groups controlling northern Mali have committed serious abuses against the local population while enforcing their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch in recent weeks has interviewed some one hundred witnesses who have fled the region or remain there.   The three rebel groups – Ansar Dine, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – have recruited several hundred children into their forces; carried out executions, floggings, and at least eight amputations as punishment; and systematically destroyed numerous religious shrines of cultural and religious importance.In April 2012, the rebel groups consolidated their control over the northern regions of Kidal, Timbuktu, and Gao.   “The Islamist armed groups have become increasingly repressive as they have tightened their grip over northern Mali,” said Corinne Dufka, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Stonings, amputations, and floggings have become the order of the day in an apparent attempt to force the local population to accept their world view. In imposing their brand of Sharia law, they have also meted out a tragically cruel parody of justice and recruited and armed children as young as 12.”   Since July, Human Rights Watch has conducted 97 interviews in Mali’s capital, Bamako, with witnesses and victims of abuses, as well as others knowledgeable about the human rights situation, including religious and traditional leaders, medical personnel, rights activists, teachers, diplomats, journalists, and government officials. Many witnesses had fled the affected areas; those who remained in rebel-controlled areas were interviewed by telephone. Witnesses described abuses taking place in the northern towns of Gao, Timbuktu, Goundam, Diré, Niafounké, Ansongo, Tissalit, Aguelhoc, and Kidal.   * Visit the link below to access the report. Visit the related web page
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