Shang Aiyuan bursts into tears upon receiving the decision of the court to rehear her executed son's murder case at her home in Inner Mongolia autonmous region on Thursday. [Photo/Legal Evening News]

Eighteen years after a suspect was executed for murder, the top court in Inner Mongolia autonomous region has decided to rehear the case, reported Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

Hugjiltu, a member of the Mongolian ethnic group, was convicted as an 18-year-old of raping and choking a woman to death in a toilet at a textile factory in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, in April 1996. He was executed 61 days after the woman was killed, despite doubts about the evidence. At the time, the local authorities had launched a crackdown against violent crimes, and serious cases were fast-tracked through the courts.

However, in 2005, a man named Zhao Zhihong said he was the murderer. He also confessed to 10 cases of raping and killing women.

Hugjiltu's mother, Shang Aiyun, has been trying to prove her son's innocence since 2005. Learning that her son's case will be retried, she burst into tears, "it's a decision that has come too late."

According to the top court of the autonmous region, the retrial of the case will not open to the public.

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