NEWS -- Oct. 20, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net
 Attorney Carlos Iglesias conducts
a press conference shortly after filing a lawsuit with
Spain's National Court charging former Chinese leader
and a senior aide with genocide, torture. 5 plaintiffs
also attended the press conference. |
|
|
NEW YORK (FDI) -- On Wednesday, 15 plaintiffs from the United
States, Australia, Belgium and Spain filed a criminal lawsuit with Spain's
National Court charging former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, and Chinese
Communist Party Politburo member, Luo Gan, with directing genocide and torture
of Falun Gong practitioners.
The complaint alleges that Jiang Zemin ordered Falun Gong
"eradicated" in 1999, and has been the central figure in directing and
overseeing a genocide -- as defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention (website)
-- against the traditional Chinese faith.
The complaint also alleges that Luo Gan has been promoting
and enforcing the genocide as the vice-director of the "6-10 Office" (about);
an agency established by Jiang and granted extra-constitutional powers to
"eradicate" Falun Gong through organized brainwashing sessions,
torture and murder.
According to the plaintiff's attorney, Mr. Carlos Iglesias, a
judge has been assigned to the complaint, although there is no timeline for a
decision as to whether the case will be accepted by the Court.
Unlike many recent lawsuits filed by Falun Gong practitioners
in Europe, the statutes invoked by the Spanish complaint against Jiang and Luo
are national laws rather than United Nations Conventions. The complaint is based
on Spain's Organic Law, which grants Spanish courts universal jurisdiction to
process complaints for severe crimes such as genocide, even though the alleged
crimes were not committed in Spain.
The Spanish lawsuit against Jiang and Luo is the 16th
international lawsuit in 13 countries to emerge in the past two years against
high-ranking Chinese officials or government bodies for their roles in
persecuting Falun Gong. (news
- website)
It is the 3rd international lawsuit to target
Jiang Zemin and the 8th lawsuit to target Luo Gan and/or the
"6-10 Office" he oversees. (news)
Two of these lawsuits filed in the United States have already
seen judgments in favor of Falun Gong, while several others have been dismissed
reportedly due to severe diplomatic pressure from the Chinese regime.
Spain's Hight Court where the lawsuit against Jiang and Luo
was filed gained noteriety in 1998 by accepting a similar lawsuit filed against
former Chilean dictator Augosto Pinochet, for which the court then evoked the
European Convention on Extradition in an attempt to have Pinochet extradited
from the UK to Spain to stand trial.
About the correlation between the suit against Jiang and Luo,
and the suit against Pinochet, Mr. Iglesias said, "We are using many of the
same arguments that were used against Pinochet, and since such a case could
never be brought before a court in China, the universal jurisdication of our Law
and the legal precedent in Spain indicates this court has every reason to accept
and try this case."
An attempt to file a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin in China was
made in August 2000 by Mr. Wang Jie from Beijing and Mr. Chu O-ming from Hong
Kong. The men, however, were detained by Chinese authorities and there was no
response to the lawsuit from the Chinese regime. Mr. Chu was later given a five
year prison sentence, while Mr. Wang -- according to an Aug. 24, 2003 Associated
Press report -- was released on medical parole due to severe injuries he
suffered while in detention.
"The United Nations Conventions are clear on this
issue," adds Mr. Igesias. "If justice cannot be served in the
countries where alleged crimes of genocide and torture occur, it is the
responsibility of the international community to step in. In Spain, we have laws
that can accept and try such cases, and that's exactly what we intend to
do."
# # #
NEWS -- Oct. 20, 2003
Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about),
is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal
principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice
that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in
1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but
it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of
Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word
of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50
countries.
With government estimates of as many as 100
million practicing Falun Gong, China's then-Communist leader, Jiang Zemin,
outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report),
fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the
Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced
improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has
intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice
while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it.
To that end, Jiang established the "6-10
Office," a Gestapo-like agency spanning from the Central Government to
the local governments. The United States Congress has described the "6-10
Office" as an agency charged with "overseeing the persecution of Falun
Gong members through organized brainwashing, torture, and murder." (news)
The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 802
deaths (reports
/ sources)
since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001,
however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll
was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds
of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000
being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA
INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963,
Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: contact@faluninfo.net,
Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/