The Supreme People's Court has agreed to review the rape conviction of a man who was sentenced to life in prison more than a decade ago.

Zhang Zhichao was detained at age 16 in 2005 after local investigators accused him of raping and killing a female classmate in Linshu county, Shandong province. He was found guilty of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment by Linyi city's intermediate court in March the following year. His lawyers appealed to China's top court after a similar motion was turned down by the provincial-level high court in 2012.

"We've filed the case and reviews are underway," a senior official of the Supreme People's Court who asked not to named confirmed on Tuesday.