China octogenarian on trial for murder
2013-02-20 18:50
Beijing - A man in his 80s has gone on trial in a Chinese
court for a murder he allegedly committed during the tumultuous Cultural
Revolution over four decades ago, state media reported on Wednesday.
A court in the eastern province of Zhejiang this week
tried the man for the 1967 murder of a doctor suspected of being a spy, the
state-run China News Service reported.
It said the defendant surnamed Qiu is accused of
strangling his victim, surnamed Hong, with a rope before cutting off his legs
and burying him.
Qiu was a member of "an armed group" during the
decade of upheaval known as the Cultural Revolution, the report said, adding
that he was arrested last July.
The Cultural Revolution was launched in 1966 by
then-leader Mao Zedong, who called on ordinary citizens to struggle against the
privileged, resulting in attacks on government officials, intellectuals and
other groups.
The period, which still stirs emotions in China, saw
young people form "Red Guard" units which engaged in mass violence,
destroyed cultural relics and sometimes obtained weapons.
China has never publicly estimated how many died during
the period, which saw citizens turn on their neighbours.
Half a million died in 1967 alone, according to British
historian Roderick MacFarquhar.
The verdict in the trial is yet to be announced.
- SAPA
