(Clearwisdom.net) Several Falun Gong practitioners, including a Spanish citizen, have filed a criminal lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese president and the present chairman of the military committee, and the leader of the "610 Office", Luo Gan, at the Spanish national court this morning. The defendants were sued for crimes of torture and Genocide since 1999, when they began to oppress Falun Gong.

A spokesperson for the Spanish Falun Gong association said, "the Falun Gong plaintiffs from Asia, North America, and Australia have filed the lawsuit. They filed the lawsuit in Spain because universal jurisdiction is included in the Spanish legal system."

A spokesperson for Falun Gong also said, "The crimes that the defendants have committed cannot be brought to trial in China, because anyone who claims to be a Falun Gong practitioner will immediately be captured, sent to a labour camp, and tortured." It has been reported that since the spiritual movement was banned in 1999 there have been a million people detained, sentenced, and about 2000 people have been persecuted to death."

Among the plaintiffs, there is one Spanish citizen, Victor Sanchez Gonzalez who lives in Switzerland. He was captured by policemen when he and thirty five companions spread a banner reading 'Falun Gong - Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance' on Tiananmen Square, Beijing in 2001. They were forcibly detained in a nearby police station, beaten and tortured. Sanchez personally witnessed policemen sexually abuse a female practitioner there.

Another plaintiff is an American psychiatrist, Alejandro Centurion, whose parents are Spanish. He came from the USA to Spain to file the lawsuit. He was one of Sanchez's companions who were arrested on Tiananmen.

Another plaintiff is a Chinese-Australian Falun Gong practitioner, Dai Zhizhen. Her husband was persecuted to death.

New testimony and plaintiffs can be added to the lawsuit filed in the national court at any time. The attorney, Mr. Carlos Iglesias told reporters, "The Spanish national court has complete qualifications and the right to accept this lawsuit." Similar lawsuits have also been filed in France, Finland, America and Germany... In Australia, more than one hundred people have filed a lawsuit against the Jiang regime. A Falun Gong spokesperson also pointed out, "Jiang persecutes Falun Gong practitioners not only in China, but also extends [the persecution] to other countries. Regardless of people's nationality, as long as they are Falun Gong practitioners, they are a target of China's persecution."

Jiang's government began a large-scale and cruel persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. Though Jiang is not the president of China now, he is the chairman of China's military committee and continues to direct Chinese policy.

Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200310/15842.html

Posting date: 11/4/2003
Original article date: 11/4/2003
Category: News & Media Reports
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/10/20/59190.html

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