Williams Report on China Rights
Q&A Williams & Richardson / China Rights / In China, a court has ruled in favor of a group of villagers detained in the country's so-called "black jails" after traveling to Beijing to lodge complaints with the central government. The official Xinhua news agency said 10 people were convicted today of illegally detaining the petitioners, who had traveled to the capital from central Henan province. The court said the defendants "falsely imprisoned" the petitioners for several days in two courtyards in Beijing last April. It gave them jail sentences ranging from six months to two years, saying they "infringed the personal rights" of the petitioners. It also ordered them to pay an unspecified amount of compensation. Sophie Richardson is China director at Human Rights Watch. VOA’s Sarah Williams asked her whether this latest ruling signifies any changes in Chinese justice.