The review of a high-profile rape-murder case involving the execution of a 21-year-old man in 1995 has been extended for another three months due to its complexity, the Shandong High People's Court announced on Thursday.
The presiding judge promised to remain impartial, in response to recent rumors that a senior Hebei official said at a meeting that the case's verdict would never change no matter who reviews the case, be it Hebei or Shandong judicial organs, Chen Guangwu, a lawyer of Nie Shubin, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Nie was convicted by the Hebei High People's Court of raping and murdering a woman surnamed Kang in a cornfield on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Shijiazhuang in 1994.
However, Wang Shujin, who was separately convicted for the rape and murder of three other women, confessed in 2005 that he was responsible for Kang's death. Wang was also sentenced to death but has yet to be executed.
In December 2014, the Supreme People's Court requested the Shandong High People's Court to review the case for six months.
The review was supposed to end on Thursday.
Zhu Yunshan, the presiding judge of the Shandong court's review panel, told Nie's family and two lawyers that with the approval of the supreme court, the case will continue to be reviewed until September 15, since the case's significance and complexity require further investigation, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.
Zhu said the court has been following the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality in reviewing Nie's case.
"We understand that the review panel needs more time to reexamine the evidence given the long time span, tremendous public attention and pressure from Hebei authorities," Chen said.
Li Shuting, Nie's other attorney, told the Global Times they will aid the court review by providing additional evidence, but declined to provide details.
"When defense lawyers exposed loopholes in the case, that's when Hebei authorities interfered and several witnesses refused to cooperate with the lawyers," Chen said.
