A Chinese woman faces the death penalty for killing her abusive husband after her pleas for help were ignored
BANGKOK (TrustLaw) - The Chinese government should commute the death sentence handed out to a woman convicted of killing her abusive husband after authorities ignored her pleas for help, rights groups have said.
Li Yan, aged 41, could be executed in the coming days, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday, adding that the case illustrates the urgent need for legislation on domestic violence.
One in four Chinese women suffers domestic violence, including marital rape and beatings, HRW said, citing Chinese government statistics released in January.
“It is cruel and perverse for the government to impose the death penalty on Li Yan when it took no action to investigate her husband’s abuse or to protect her from it,” said Sophie Richardson, HRW’s China director.
Li Yan, from Sichuan Province, killed her husband Tan Yong in November 2010 following a violent dispute. They had been married since March 2009.
"According to Li’s lawyer, Tan had kicked Li and threatened to shoot her with an air rifle when Li grabbed the rifle and struck Tan with it, killing him. Li then dismembered Tan’s body," said HRW.
Amnesty International, which is also urging the authorities not to execute Li Yan, said Tan inflicted frequent beatings on his wife. “He cut off one of her fingers, stubbed cigarettes out on her face and during the freezing Sichuan winters locked her outside on the balcony of their apartment for several hours with little clothing," it added.
FAILURE TO INVESTIGATE
Li had repeatedly complained about Tan’s abuses to the police, the neighborhood committee and the local branch of the government-backed All China Women’s Federation (ACWF) as early as August 2010, according to HRW.
Neither the police nor the ACWF investigated the allegations, with the police saying it was a "family matter".
Evidence of the abuse, including police records, hospital records, witness testimony and pictures of her injuries, was presented in court, but the Ziyang City Intermediate People’s Court ruled it insufficient because all the statements had come from Li's friends and family, HRW said.
As the authorities had made no attempt to investigate and confirm that Tan was the source of the abuse, the court ruled it was not clear that domestic violence had taken place.
While local governments have brought in rules on domestic violence since 2000, they lack specific provisions to keep women safe, HRW said.
"In Sichuan Province, where Li Yan lives, the anti-domestic violence regulation does not include protective orders for victims," it added.
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