Chinese woman’s death after allegations of gang rape sparks unrest in Beijing

Earlier today, the Beijing Public Security Bureau reported that “non-Beijing residents” were gathering in Fengtai District, in southwest Beijing, to “reflect discontent” with the May 3 death of a woman who had allegedly been gang raped (link in Chinese). The death of the woman in question, a 22-year-old worker from Anhui province, occurred hours after she was allegedly gang raped by security guards; authorities determined that there were “no suspicious circumstances” (link in Chinese).

By the late afternoon, the protests had escalated (link in Chinese), and crowds had grown to thousands, according to Chinese pop culture blog Beijing Cream, and Chinese police and paramilitary forces thronged the area. (Here’s a Youtube of the protests, and some photos via @niubi, plus another here.) Local sources say that some details of the case make the lack of suspicion from police investigators questionable (links in Chinese).
For instance, the police refused requests from the woman’s family to see surveillance footage on the grounds that it was unrelated to the case, according to local reports. At present, web searches relevant to the protests—such as Yongdingmen, a part of Bejing where demonstrations are taking place—appear to be blocked on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.