Love made her determined to clear his name and bring him home to share family life again

Spring Festival for Nian Jianlan was a bittersweet experience. It was the first Chinese New Year she had celebrated with her younger brother in eight years, since his release from prison.

"I'm grateful to the judicial process for giving innocence back to my family member as well as reuniting him with me," said the 40-year-old.

The hard experience of the past few years remains vivid for her, but she said she would become stronger with the release of her brother, Nian Bin, and his return home.

Nian Bin, 39, of Pingtan county, Fujian province, was acquitted on Aug 22 after being sentenced to death for murdering two of his neighbors with poison.

On July 27, 2006, four people in the county, three of them children, fell ill after having supper. Two of the children died. Police suspected Nian Bin, then 30, because he was not on good terms with the family of the victims.

The day police took Nian Bin away was when Nian Jianlan set out to prove her brother's innocence. She never thought it would be such a long and frustrating battle.

Four months after Nian Bin was detained, their father died and their house was destroyed by the victims' family in an act of revenge. In the midst of personal grief, Nian Jianlan cooperated with the police and told them her brother had an alibi.

She was taken aback when Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced Nian Bin to death in February 2008.

"I couldn't believe my ears when the court announced the sentence," she said. "I know Nian Bin and believe in the law, but I couldn't understand such a verdict."

She gave up her financing job a month later and came to Beijing shortly after undergoing surgery for appendicitis. She turned to Zhang Yansheng, an outstanding criminal lawyer, for assistance.

"Zhang pointed out the difficulty the prosecution had in identifying the poison and told me she was interested in the case and would like to help," she said. "I was excited and could see a glimmer of hope."

But in June 2009, the provincial high people's court upheld the death sentence. The verdict made Nian Jianlan feel anxious again.

"I started calling Zhang and another lawyer, Gongsun Xue, again and again, because I couldn't stop worrying," she said. "They encouraged me and told me to wait for a review by China's top court."

In April 2010, the Supreme People's Court revoked the death sentence.

"I regained my confidence, and some of my friends said my smile also came back," she said, adding she devoted all her energy fighting for the case to be retried.

However, frustration and despair set in again when Nian Bin was sentenced to death by Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court at a third trial in November 2011.

"It was my doomsday," she said. "At the time, our mother became ill, and Nian's daughter often asked me where her father was. I didn't know how to face the family and just stared blankly all the time. I cried like a child when I called to Zhang and regarded her as my sister."

Nian Jianlan fell into depression at this point, but she did not forget her brother. She told China Daily she was motivated to continue by love.

"The love made me stronger and also asked me to be sensible," she said.

The verdict was once again sent to the high people's court after the family's appeal, and Nian Jianlan knew it was the last throw of the dice.

In 2013, judicial reform was raised in China after the leadership made rule of law a priority. Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, highlighted wrongful cases in a bid to improve judicial credibility. As a result, Chinese courts reviewed their verdicts in order to ensure justice had been served.

Nian Bin was acquitted on the grounds of insufficient evidence. His sister simply bowed her head and burst into tears.

For the Chinese New Year, brother and sister returned to their hometown from Guangdong province, where Nian Bin receives medical treatment for problems with his hands, legs and stomach, to honor the memory of their father and mother, who died in January 2014.

The family still faces battles in the future. Nian Bin was awarded 1.13 million yuan ($183,000) in State compensation on Feb 16, though they applied for 15 million yuan, and he is not allowed to go abroad for medical treatment.

"He is still regarded with suspicion," Nian Jianlan said. "It's not in accordance with our laws that acquitted people can do what they want like other people."

In the course of fighting for justice for her brother, she has gained considerable knowledge of the law and plans to put it to good use.

"I will go on helping my brother and hope to become a judicial volunteer," she said.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 03/18/2015 page6)