Li Jun, who has been sentenced to death, was on Wednesday allowed to meet with his wife in the meeting room of the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court.

To allow prisoners facing imminent execution to meet with their family members before the sentence is carried out is a new humanitarian measure introduced by the Beijing judicial system.

According to the court, Li, 30, sold pork in a Beijing market for several years. During that time, he often had arguments with a neighboring businessman and finally killed the man out of accumulated resentment.

Li was arrested, charged, tried and sentenced to death.

He asked to see his wife once before being executed and the court approved the request after careful consideration.

In the meeting room, a glass window separated Li and his wife. They talked with each other over a telephone for about 20 minutes,and Li asked his wife to take care of the family and herself. He also expressed deep appreciation to the court for allowing his final wish.

Judge Zheng Weiyang said the fact that prisoners facing death sentences were allowed to meet with family members showed that thehuman rights of prisoners were respected in China.
 
(Xinhua News Agency  September 18, 2003)