Chinese activists say the government has paid compensation to the mother of a 15-year-old boy who died in police custody days after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

They say the Chinese government paid the mother of Zhou Guocong more than $8,700 (70,000 yuan) in so-called hardship assistance. Activists say the payment is the first known time China has paid compensation to a relative of someone killed during the crackdown on the democracy movement.

Activists say Zhou was detained by police in the southern city of Chengdu as part of a nationwide crackdown on democracy protests.

The 1989 student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square were crushed by the Chinese military. Other protests were held across China.