Text of Complaint Charging Jiang and 610 Office with Genocide
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Plaintiffs, v. JIANG Zemin and Falun Gong Control Office (A.K.A. Office 6/10), Defendants.
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COMPLAINT CLASS ACTION Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and others in the designated class of injured
parties similarly situated, complain and allege as follows: I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 1. This is a civil action for compensatory and punitive damages for torts
committed in violation of international and domestic law, that is instituted pursuant to
specific statutory authorization, namely the Alien Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. í 1350) and the
Torture Victims Protection Act (106 Stat. 73 (1992)), as detailed below. Plaintiffs in this action
include three individually identified residents of the People's Republic of China or refugees from
that country now living in different nations around the world, including the United States. All were
subjected to torture, genocide, and other major human rights abuses as current residents and
citizens of the Peoples' Republic of China, together with their immediately affected family members,
or as visitors to that country, as well as all others who are similarly situated or affected. All
these Plaintiffs are practitioners of the Falun Gong who, while residents of the People's Republic
of China or present in that jurisdiction and thereby subject to the jurisdiction and authority of
the Defendant JIANG, as Chair of the People's Republic of China, of the Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party, and of the Central Military Committee of the People's Republic of China, as
well as to the jurisdiction and authority of the Falun Gong Control Office (Office 6/10). All have
suffered and been threatened with the most severe forms of persecution and abuse violating their
fundamental human rights, at the hands of, and with the concurrence, support and supervision of the
named Defendants acting in their official and quasi-official capacities. Individual plaintiffs also
include U.S. citizens or alien residents of the U.S. who were purposefully, intentionally, subjected
to discrimination based on their belief in the spiritual practice of Falun Gong and their
co-extensive attempt to protest peacefully the persecution of Falun Gong in China during Defendant
JIANG's visit to Iceland in June of 2002. All of these suffered discrimination and violations of
their fundamental human rights, at the hands of, and with the concurrence, support and supervision
of the named Defendants acting in their official and quasi-official capacities. 2. This action is instituted against Defendant JIANG Zemin, and the office that
he helped to establish to organize and carry a systematic campaign of persecution, torture, and
genocide against Falun Gong. Defendant JIANG is presently serving, since March of 1993, as Chair of
the People's Republic of China and Chair of the Central Military Committee of the People's Republic
of China. Since September 1997, JIANG also has served as Secretary General of the Central Committee
of the Chinese Communist Party of the People's Republic of China. In these capacities, and since
June of 1999, the Defendant has designed, ordered, implemented and directed a program of eliminating
the practice of Falun Gong in China. Defendant JIANG's actions resulted in selective murder,
disappearance, widespread torture and genocide against thousands of practitioners of Falun Gong, as
well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention without trial of
thousands. 3. On June 10, 1999, Defendant JIANG officially established and authorized the
clandestine and illegal operation of the Falun Gong Control Office, a subdivision of the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which since its inception has been the only political
party in China. The Falun Gong Control Office is also referred to in China as "Office
6/10," to commemorate the date of its official creation (June 10, 1999). Both Defendant JIANG
and Defendant Office 6/10 have played key architectural roles in the suppression of the spiritual
practices of Falun Gong in China. By their consistent and thoroughgoing policy, and extensively and
brutally applied and officially mandated, albeit unlawful, campaign of persecution against Falun
Gong, they have ordered and authorized the arrest, detention, torture, and arbitrary execution of
persons who refuse to renounce their spiritual belief in and practice of Falun Gong, as well as
those who demonstrated peacefully and publicly against these acts of repression, irrespective of
their spiritual beliefs. While technically not a government agency, Office 6/10, as a practical
matter, has been operating in a quasi-official capacity under Defendant JIANG's illegal mandate, to
organize and direct the campaign of persecution against Falun Gong, with the support of, on behalf
of, and in furtherance of the goals of Defendant JIANG, and other high ranking officials of the
government of China. II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 4. This Court has jurisdiction over the claims brought by Plaintiffs by
virtue of 28 U.S.C. section 1350, incorporating provisions of the Alien Tort Claims Act and the
Torture Victims Protection Act, which provide for federal jurisdiction and a cause of action
"for any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations
or a treaty of the United States," as well as for acts of torture committed abroad against
either U.S. citizens or citizens of other nations. 5. A separate and additional basis for jurisdiction is 28 U.S.C. í 1343(4),
which provides for federal court jurisdiction in situations where damages or equitable or other
relief is sought under acts of Congress providing for the protection of civil rights, as well as
under 28 U.S.C. í 1331, since this case arises "under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of
the United States," and raises significant federal questions under Constitutional provisions,
statutes and international treaties ratified by the U.S., including 42 U.S.C. í 1985. 6. In this case, the actions of the Defendants constitute violations of some of
the most deeply held and universally acknowledged human rights that are enshrined in a
number of widely ratified international treaties, as well as being firmly accepted parts of
customary international law, and jus cogens. These include the right to not be arbitrarily arrested,
imprisoned and deprived of life; the right to not be subjected to torture and genocide; the right to
hold and exercise views and beliefs freely and without interference; the right to liberty and
security of the person; and the right to associate with others and to practice religious and
spiritual beliefs without restriction. The exercise by the Plaintiffs of these internationally
recognized human rights, enshrined in both treaty and customary international law, and universally
recognized as part of the law of nations, has been seriously and maliciously abridged by the
policies and actions of the Defendants and their co-conspirators acting under color of law and in
their official and quasi-official capacities, clearly outside the scope of their lawful and
legitimate authority. Among the specific human rights treaty standards violated by the Defendant are
the Convention Against Torture, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Genocide Convention,
and the United Nations Charter. Many of these same standards are embodied in customary international
law and in jus cogens, as articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each of these
standards, and how they have been violated by the actions of the Defendants and their
co-conspirators to the detriment and injury of the Plaintiffs, is described and explained in the
text of the complaint, below, beginning with paragraph 29. These violations of international law,
together with injuries inflicted upon the alien Plaintiffs as a result of these violations, place
this legal action within the parameters of the jurisdictional standards spelled out in 28 U.S.C. í
1350 embodying the provisions of the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act,
as well as in 28 U.S.C. í 1343(4), 28 U.S.C. í 1331, and 42 U.S.C. í 1985. 7. Defendant OFFICE 6/10 was established as a subdivision of the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party by JIANG Zemin on June 7, 1999, and officially set up by
the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on June 10, 1999 per JIANG's order. As a
subdivision of the ruling party in China, and not itself an official government agency, it acts
under color of law and carries out law enforcement operations of a governmental nature. Acting under
the command and control of defendant JIANG, chair of the People's Republic of China, the office
employs and supervises government officials and other public agencies, such as media communications
and law enforcement, to carry out a campaign of murder, torture, terrorism, rape, beatings, and
destruction of property against members of Falun Gong and their families. As such, its actions
constitute major abuses and violations of a number of international laws and treaties. These
violations of international law, together with the injuries inflicted upon the Plaintiffs as a
result of these violations, place this legal action against the Defendants within the provisions of
the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act. 8. Defendant JIANG and defendant Office 6/10, as represented by defendant JIANG,
will be physically present in the United States in October of 2002, availing themselves and their
property of the security and sanctuary of the United States and the state of Illinois, engaging in
banquets, meetings, and other activities. The fact that the Defendants are neither citizens nor
permanent residents of the United States, but that Defendant JIANG, on behalf of himself and as an
agent of his political party's Office 6/10, and other senior officers of 6/10 are only temporary
visitors in this country does not deprive the Court of jurisdiction. The very nature of the Alien
Tort Claims Act and Torture Victims Protection Act provisions authorizing this type of civil action
in federal court recognize that many defendants or potential defendants in these cases, as aliens
committing torts abroad that involve violations of international law, will be in the United States
and subject to the jurisdiction of our federal courts only on a temporary basis. Moreover, among the
purposes of Defendant JIANG's visit, as reflected in a banquet and other activities to be held in
his honor in Chicago, Illinois, is the furtherance of the goals of Defendant JIANG and the Office
6/10 to carry out their campaign of persecution against Falun Gong. These activities include a
discussion of topics relevant to the ban of Falun Gong in China. 9. Venue is properly vested in the Federal District Court for the Northern
District of Illinois pursuant to the requirements of 28 U.S.C. oo 1391 (b) and (d), as a location
within the United States where the Defendants and/or their agents will be not only personally
located during their current visit to this country, but present as participants in meetings to
further their own agenda regarding, inter alia, the ban of Falun Gong in China, and wherein
Defendant JIANG, both for himself and as an agent for Office 6/10 can be personally served with
process regarding the initiation of this lawsuit pursuant to the requirements of Rules 4 (c)(1),
(e), and (h) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 10. Jurisdiction over Defendant JIANG, as the designated head-of-state of the
People's Republic of China, is authorized and recognized as an exception to the head of state
immunity doctrine and to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. í 1602 et seq., by
incorporation of the principles of the Convention Against Genocide which excludes from immunity acts
of genocide by any and all government officials, including heads of state, and by other
international standards that recognize the culpability of heads of state and other government
officials for major abuses that violate jus cogens standards of international law, and therefore
commit acts which reside beyond the limits of their legitimate and legal authority as head of state.
Likewise, the Torture Victims Protection Act covers any and all officials committing torture,
whatever their position, whether they are current or former officials. This case is not against the
Government of China. Nor is it against any legitimate and lawful act of its officers so as to merit
either sovereign immunity or head of state immunity as a defense to this Court's jurisdiction over
this action. III. PARTIES A. Plaintiffs 11. Plaintiffs are members of and represent a designated class of Falun Gong practitioners who
have resided in China in the past, or are currently residing in the Peoples' Republic of China.
While under the jurisdiction and control of Chinese authorities, they have been subjected to various
forms of persecution and abuse, amounting to serious violations of their human rights, that are
associated with the policies and actions of the Defendants and other high-level government officials
with whom they have conspired, taken in their official and unofficial capacities, aimed at punishing
the Plaintiffs for their Falun Gong beliefs and practices, preventing them from engaging in these
practices, and eliminating the Falun Gong as a spiritual movement. Individual plaintiffs also
include U.S. citizens or alien residents of the U.S. who were purposefully, intentionally, and
improperly prevented from boarding and embarking on their flights to Iceland on Icelandair to
protest the persecution of Falun Gong in China during Defendant JIANG's visit to that country in
June of 2002 because of the practices and policies of the Defendants, in concert with other high
ranking officials of the People's Republic of China. 12. Please note that alphabetic designations have been used to substitute for the
specific identities of some of the individually named plaintiffs in order to protect them and their
families, some of whom remain within the jurisdiction of China, from reprisal. For these Plaintiffs,
a very real and substantial risk exists that the Defendants would seek to inflict punishment or
coercion on the Plaintiffs and/or their families as a result of their filing this lawsuit and
bringing public exposure and criticism to the Defendants' policies and practices regarding the
intimidation of Falun Gong practitioners, and their efforts to exterminate all persons who refuse to
relinquish their belief in and practice of Falun Gong. The identities of some of the individual
Plaintiffs providing notarized or witnessed affidavits prepared for this complaint have been
redacted from the documents that will be available to the Court per request. A motion for the Court
to authorize withholding of the specific identities of the individual Plaintiffs in the text of the
complaint, and in their attached affidavits, will be filed soon after the filing of this complaint.
Counsel for Plaintiffs would be pleased to provide the Court any additional identifying information
that may be needed, including unredacted copies of the Plaintiffs'statements, so long as the
identities of the Plaintiffs are not made known to the Defendants, or made accessible to any other
officials or agencies in the People's Republic of China responsible for the campaign of persecution
against Falun Gong, through any other means. 13. Plaintiff A, male aged 39, is a U.S. citizen residing in the state of
Pennsylvania. He is bringing this complaint on behalf of his deceased brother John Doe, male aged
40, who was a citizen of China and who resided in the City of Shanghai in Shanghai Province. In
March, 2000, while he was a visitor to the City of Beijing in Beijing Province Plaintiff A's brother
was arrested by police and incarcerated along with other Falun Gong practitioners in the Qingdong
State Farm, a prison camp, in the City of Shanghai. After having been incarcerated for more than one
year, Plaintiff A's brother died from physical injuries, between the dates of April 1 and April 14,
2001. Plaintiff A's parents identified his body on the evening of April 14, 2001. The reason for
Plaintiff A's brother's arrest, detention, mistreatment and wrongful death due to abuse in police
custody is due to his belief in and practice of Falun Gong and his refusal to renounce his personal
belief in Falun Gong. 14. Plaintiff B, is a male aged 31, who currently resides as a resident alien
outside of China. He is a graduate student at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He is a citizen of
China whose home is in the City of Changchun. He was a visitor to the City of Beijing in Beijing
Province beginning in December 1999 during Christmas holiday. When he went to the Office of Appeals
in Beijing to lawfully present his views in support of Falun Gong, the police arrested him and
escorted him along with other detainees to the police bureau in the City of Changchun. Police
confiscated his passport and did not allow him to return to Ireland to continue his studies. During March 2000, Plaintiff B returned as a visitor to the City of Beijing. On
May 13, 2000, police arrested him from the school dormitory of a friend whom he was visiting. Police
detained him for more than one month at Haidian Detention Center in Beijing during which time
inmates, at the direction of police, physically abused him, forcefully holding him down and force
feeding him with liquids. This dangerous mistreatment caused the death of another Falun Gong
practitioner, Ms. Yulan Mei, when she was held in another Beijing detention center. After more than a month's detainment in the Haidian Detention Center, police
detained and incarcerated Plaintiff B in the Tuan He Labor Camp in the City of Beijing for 22 months
without the appointment of legal counsel, without a formal trial, without notice of grounds of and
for his arrest, without any other due process rights afforded him by the Constitution of the
People's Republic of China. During this period of detention, Plaintiff B was badly beaten and
tortured by police on multiple occasions. In one instance, Plaintiff B was tied down on a wooden bed
frame and shocked simultaneously with six electric batons, each transferring over 10,000 volts,
causing severe pain, spasms and mental suffering. The reason for Plaintiff B's repeated
arrest, detention and torture is his belief in and practice of Falun Gong and his refusal to
renounce his personal belief in Falun Gong. 15. Plaintiff C, a female, aged 47, citizen of China currently residing outside
China. On July 26, 2000, Plaintiff C traveled to Beijing as a visitor. On July 29, plain clothes
police identified her as a Falun Gong practitioner, arrested her and detained her in the Liaison
Office of Liaoning Province in Beijing. On July 30, Police escorted her back to Liaoning Province
and detained her in the Longshan Detention Center in Shengyang City. In Longshan Detention Center,
police beat and tortured her with electric batons on numerous occasions and also force-fed her on
numerous occasions causing severe pain and harm. (Forced feeding caused internal bleeding and nearly
caused asphyxiation on different occasions.) She was also beaten and force-fed in Dabei Prison. On
September 25, 2000, she was moved to the notorious Massanjia Labor Camp in Liaoning Province and
imprisoned. In the Massanjia Labor Camp, she experienced repeated and increased physical torture as
well as continued forced feeding, often tortured by six people simultaneously. Prison guards and
inmates, under direct pressure from higher authorities beat and tortured her day and night, causing
injuries, and verbally threatened to kill her if she did not renounce her belief in Falun Gong. This
treatment lasted for seven months.On April 19, 2001 police moved her and nine other Falun Gong
practitioners to the Shenyan Zhangshi Labor Camp, where she was imprisoned and not allowed to sleep
for weeks at a time. On May 10, 2001 police moved her to the Shenxin Labor Camp. She was again
tortured and force-fed, and her life was verbally threatened. She again sustained physical injuries
and vomited blood for three days. Shortly thereafter, authorities at the Shenxin Labor Camp released
her anticipating that she would die and that they would be held accountable for her death. Plaintiff
C is now attempting to gain refugee status to take up residence in Europe or the United States. 16. Plaintiff D, a female aged 53, currently resides as a resident alien outside
of China. She was a citizen and resident of the City of Da Lian in Liao Ning Province of the
Peoples' Republic of China through the latter part of 2000, during the period that the Defendants
directed and implemented the campaign of persecution against Falun Gong in Liao Ning Province and
elsewhere in China. She was arrested and detained for long periods on two occasions during this
period of time in 1999 and again in 2000, and subjected to torture while in detention. The reason
for her arrests, detentions and tortures was her participation in the Falun Gong spiritual movement,
and her belief and practice in Falun Gong related associations, observances and activities. 17. Plaintiff E is a female who currently resides as a resident alien outside of
China. She is bringing this complaint on behalf of herself and her parent, who currently resides in
Liao Ning Province in China and is incarcerated in a prison labor camp in that Province. Plaintiff
B's parent was arrested twice, first in 2000 and again in 2001. Her parent was detained for an
extended period in 2000, and currently remains in detention and subject to a prison sentence as a
result of her Falun Gong beliefs and activities. Her Parent currently is incarcerated in Masanjia
Labor Camp in Liao Ning Province, a prison facility with a reputation for particular brutality. In
that facility, in October, 2000, 18 female Falun Gong practitioners were stripped and thrown into a
male prisoners' cell. During their stay in Masanjia Labor Camp Plaintiff B's parent has been
subjected to physical abuse, torture and highly degrading treatment and punishment, including
arbitrary, long-term detention and deprivation of liberty and security of the person because of her
spiritual beliefs and her association with the Falun Gong spiritual movement. 18. Plaintiff F is a 39 year old male and former resident of a municipality in
Liao Ning Province now residing as a refugee outside of China. He was arrested, detained for a
number of days and beaten brutally by the police with chains and an electric baton when he went to
Beijing in 1999 to support Falun Gong practitioners and protest their repression. In April, 2000 he
was arrested a second time in Liao Ning Province. He was again brutally beaten to unconsciousness,
with blood coming down though his mouth and nose, and his foot badly mangled. While in detention for
an extended period of times he was beaten and tortured repeatedly, including being hung up on water
pipes for three days. 19. Pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the individual
plaintiffs identified above are joined in this complaint by other members of the class of adversely
affected individuals whom they represent, namely past or present residents of the Peoples' Republic
of China, or visitors to that country, during the periods that the Defendant JIANG designed,
ordered, implemented and supervised the persecution of Falun Gong in China, both nationally and
locally, through the illegal activities of Office 6/10. Defendant JIANG in concert with other high
ranking officials of the Office 6/10, continues to monitor and control the 6/10 Office which is
itself in charge of carrying out the persecution and repression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement
and its practitioners since June 1999. Also of relevance herein in the fact that Defendant JIANG
exercised supervisory authority over the operations of Office 6/10, as the Chairman of the People's
Republic of China, the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Military of the People's Republic of
China, and Secretary General of the Communist Party's Central Planning Committee, the three most
powerful political positions in China, during the entire period that the campaign of illegal
persecution of Falun Gong has occurred. Plaintiffs, individually and as members of the class they
represent, are practitioners or believers in the Falun Gong spiritual movement, who, because of
those beliefs and associations have either been subjected to grave abuses of their internationally
recognized human rights - including arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, torture, genocide, and
deprivation of life, liberty, or security of the person - or have been threatened with such
violations, through the actions of Defendant JIANG, other high level government officials, and
Defendant Office 6/10, with whom Defendant JIANG has conspired to carry out these acts and
objectives. 20. Other members of the class of adversely affected individuals have been joined
through this class action, pursuant to the requirements of Rule 23(a), because the class is too
numerous to permit joinder of all members, there are questions of law and fact common to the class,
the claims of the representative parties are typical of the claims of the class, and the
representatives parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class. Moreover,
pursuant to the requirements of Rule 23(b) separate actions would create a risk of inconsistent
adjudications affecting the interests of all members of the class, and the nature of the
circumstances is such that there are common questions of law and fact that predominate over any
questions affecting only individual members, making a class action the appropriate method for
adjudicating the issues presented. In addition, the physical location and circumstances of many
members of the class, namely their being located in China, and the fact that many of them currently
are being held in arbitrary and unlawful detention in China, as well as the threat to their and
their families' safety associated with identifying them as individual plaintiffs, renders their
joinder as individual and named plaintiffs inappropriate and impractical if not impossible. 21. Plaintiff Wei Ye, a citizen of the People's Republic of China, currently is a
resident alien living in the U.S. in Chicago, Illinois. On June 11, 2002, he, along with two other
colleagues who practice Falun Gong, arrived at the Minneapolis Airport at approximately 6:00 p.m. in
order to board a flight to Iceland on Icelandair flight number FI652, for which he had purchased a
ticket and held reservations obtained through Orient Express Travel Agency in New York City. He
traveled by car to the airport from Chicago, which involved an 8-hour drive. He planned this trip to
coincide with the visit to Iceland of President Jiang of China in order to peacefully express his
views in opposition to the campaign of persecution against the Falun Gong in China, and to carry out
meditation and other spiritual exercises in an effort to experience solidarity with his colleagues
in China who were being subjected to abuse, and to lend a spiritual voice in support of positive
change. When they arrived at the check-in counter of Icelandair Mr. Ye was informed by Ms. Jessica
Ginger, station manager for the Airline, that he and his colleagues were "on the list and not
allowed to board the plane." When they asked for an explanation they were shown two letters.
The first was from Icelandair and the second was from the Ministry of Justice of Iceland. They
indicated that the Ministry of Justice had directed the Airline to refuse passage to Iceland to
those on the restricted passenger list during the period around President Jiang's visit to Iceland.
Upon information and belief, the "list" was assembled, compiled and circulated for this
purpose by Defendants and other officials in China to prevent any protest in outside of China pf the
persecution of Falun Gong in China. Mr. Ye stayed in the airport that evening and on the following
day again attempted to convince the Airline to honor the ticket they had already sold to him. But
again on June 13th, he was not permitted to board the plane. He drove back to Chicago that evening.
He again drove back to the Airport in Minneapolis the following day, on June 14, when he heard that
some Falun Gong practitioners who had initially been denied passage had subsequently been able to
board later flights. Again, he sought to convince the Airline personnel to honor his ticket. But
once again, he was denied boarding by the Airline, and was forced to make the 8-hour return trip
home for the second time. 22. Plaintiff Hao Wang is a U.S. citizen and a 17 year-old high school student
attending Phillips Academy in Andover, near Boston, Massachusetts. In May, 2002, he and his family
planned a trip to Iceland to tour the country, and to meet with other Falun Gong practitioners to
share and practice their deeply held spiritual beliefs in conjunction with the scheduled visit of
the President of China to that country. They purchased tickets on Icelandair flight number FI632
departing on June 10, 2002. The tickets were purchased and the reservations made through
Icelandair's on-line travel service at the www.icelandair.com website.
When he and his family arrived at Logan International Airport in Boston he was given a letter to
sign stating that he was not going to visit Iceland to protest China's treatment of Falun Gong
practitioners. As a student of history and a citizen of a democratic country, he was deeply troubled
by having to sign this type of "oath" agreeing to surrender his constitutional and human
rights in order to be permitted to board an airplane. He considered these demands
"un-American," especially the requirement that he reveal what his religious and spiritual
beliefs were, and how he planned to practice them. Nevertheless, he signed the statement in order to
continue his trip. But the invasiveness did not end there. When he arrived at Customs in Iceland
each member of his family as well as other Falun Gong practitioners and those who appeared of Asian
ethnicity were separated out by airport security personnel and individually interrogated. They were
asked "whether or not they studied Falun Gong and whether or not they were members of Falun
Gong." After these interrogations they were taken to another room, not permitted to speak among
themselves, and interrogated for an additional five hours. After these interrogations those whose
names were not on the restricted list were permitted to enter Iceland. Those whose names were on the
list were denied entry, irrespective of the answers they provided to Customs and security personnel
concerning their Falun Gong affiliation, and were told that they would be deported. Upon information
and belief, the "list" was assembled, complied, and circulated for this purpose by the
Defendants to prevent any protest outside of China of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Those
on the list were placed in detention in a schoolhouse near the airport for a period of 18 hours.
Finally, on June 12, 2002, after a long and difficult ordeal, they were released and permitted to
enter Iceland. They were told that there had been a change in policy to allow them to enter the
country because of a groundswell of protest and support from the Icelandic people and the press
concerning the Government of Iceland's exclusionary and discriminatory policies. B. Defendants 23. Defendant JIANG is a citizen and resident of the People's Republic of China. As Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist
Party of China since September 1997, as Chair of Central Military Committee of the People's Republic
of China and as Chair of the People's Republic of China, since March of 1993, Defendant JIANG
exercises executive authority over the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and over
all high ranking officials and organs of the government of the People's Republic of China. These
areas of responsibility include authority to set policy, to control and manage national and local
government affairs, and to select, appoint, remove and manage government and party officials.
Defendant JIANG has used his authority in the Peoples Republic of China to organize and operate an
illegal operation that imposes the most serious abuses of human rights standards on Falun Gong
practitioners. 24. More particularly, Defendant JIANG established the clandestine Office 6/10,
as an elite branch of the Communist Party with the highest authority to monitor, investigate and
persecute Falun Gong in June of 1999. The 6/10 Office, as a subdivision of the ruling party of
China, which has control over but is not itself apart of the governing organs of the state, acts
under color of law to pursue its campaign of persecution against Falun Gong. The office acts under
the command and control of defendant JIANG. It employs and directs government officials and other
public agencies such as media communications and law enforcement to carry out a campaign of murder,
torture, terrorism, rape, beatings, and destruction of property against members of Falun Gong and
their families. 25. Under Defendant JIANG's mandate and direction, Defendant Office 6/10 has
absolute power to set policy guidelines, design and implement programs, and establish norms which
enable each national, city, and provincial level of administration in the Communist Party, the
Public Security Ministry, each of the other Ministries (e.g., Ministries of National Security, Civil
Affairs, Economy, Planning, Treasury, Health, Religion, Education), and other administrative organs
to assist in the campaign to monitor, control, suppress, and eradicate the Falun Gong spiritual
practice in China. It is the Office 6/10's duty and obligation under this mandate to appoint,
discipline and remove those national, provincial, and city government officials who do not comply
with the directives of their office, irrespective of the power and authority vested in them by the
Constitution and laws of China. Its authority further encompasses not only the power to override the
Constitution and laws in pursuit of the campaign of repression against Falun Gong, but the power to
order the investigation and criminal indictment of any and all officials of government, or of the
Communist Party, whatever their capacity, who fail to comply with the directives of their office.
Its authority further allows them to require national and local government officials to override any
other laws, rules and regulations of China that might interfere with the carrying out of the
directives of the Falun Gong Control Office and its mandate for suppression of the Falun Gong
movement. 26. Acting together Defendant JIANG and the OFFICE 6/10, as co-conspirators,
direct the activities of all government and Communist party national and local officials, bureaus
and units to accomplish the control, suppression and eradication of Falun Gong in China. III. GENERAL STATEMENT OF FACTS 27. As the Chair of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Chair
of the People's Republic of China, and the Chair of the Central Military Committee of the People's
Republic of China, Defendant JIANG began a national policy and campaign to seek the termination of
the spiritual practices of Falun Gong and the extermination of its members, in June and July of
1999. This campaign was initiated, designed, authorized, and implemented by Defendant JIANG at the
highest levels of the Communist Party and the government. Defendant JIANG issued the initial order
that banned the spiritual movement, declaring it and its practitioners unlawful, and subjecting its
members to a cruel and abusive campaign of persecution aimed at the elimination of Falun Gong
spiritual practice and practitioners in China. 28. In July of 1999, Defendant JIANG abrogated the power and authority of the
legislative branch (the National People's Congress) when he issued an edict declaring Falun Gong to
be an illegal organization that represented a threat to the government and people of China, and
which therefore must be brutally suppressed. In July of 1999, Defendant JIANG abrogated the
authority vested in the Ministry of Public Security when, upon information and belief, he ordered
them to issue a list of unlawful prohibitions geared directly at Falun Gong, a list which, inter
alia, made criminal the constitutional right to petition in defense of Falun Gong. In October of
1999, Defendant JIANG suborned the National People's Congress when, upon information and belief, he
ordered them to adopt the "decision" to legitimize the crackdown by the retroactive
passage of a series of laws targeting "evil cults." These laws which do not mention Falun
Gong by name, have been used not only to arrest and torture illegally persons who practice Falun
Gong, but they have also been used to arrest and torture illegally Catholics, Tibetans, Protestants,
and other Christian sects, that like Falun Gong, are deemed to represent a threat to the hegemony
and authority of the regime of Defendant JIANG Zemin. 29. In June of 1999, Defendant JIANG established the clandestine 6/10 Office as
part of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, which Defendant JIANG manages,
directs, and controls, as its Chair. In his speech delivered on June 7, 1999 to the Standing Members
of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman JIANG said,
"after the leading group [Office 6/10] dealing with Falun Gong problems has been established
within the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, it should immediately organize forces,
find out the organization system nationwide of Falun Gong as soon as possible, constitute the
battling strategies, get fully prepared for the work of disintegrating Falun Gong, we should never
launch a war without preparations. We must immediately find the head of Falun Gong, research his
misdeeds and his international backgrounds, prepare material about him" See "Comrade Jiang
Zemin's Letter Speech at the Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Chinese
Communist Party, June 7, 1999. 30. The 6/10 Office was immediately established by the Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party, under the mandate and direction of its chair, Chairman JIANG, at national
and local levels as a subdivision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and at the local
and regional levels with branches within each province and city of the People's Republic of China. A
Document issued by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party of Taishan City, in
Guangdong Province, is fairly typical of documents issued in other cities and provinces across
China. In this document, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, establishes the
operation of the Office 6/10 as a subdivision of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist
Party. Its duties and responsibly include: "to implement the decisions from the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party regarding preventing and dealing with Falun Gong and other
evil cults, and other organizations that are harmful to society; ensure communication between upper
and lower levels; gather information and understand the plan of Falun Gong and other evil cults and
other organizations that are harmful to society; summarize relevant information and report major
issues; Coordinate relevant departments to carry out social propaganda activities against evil
cults; and carry out other assignments given by the Chinese Communist Party City Committee and upper
level 6/10 offices. 31. Since its inception, Defendant Office 6/10, in concert with Defendant JIANG
and the Central Committee of the Communist Party has directed, organized, orchestrated and
implemented the persecution of Falun Gong across China. Their role in the city of Beijing is highly
typical of their role elsewhere in China. Abuses committed by police and security forces in Beijing
- in addition to those committed by high-ranking government officials, members of the judicial and
other government agencies and organs - have been directed, managed, ordered, mandated, sanctioned
and designed by the national and city offices of Office 6/10. According to an Amnesty International
Briefing (3 September 2001 AI Index: ASA 17/028/2001), "the 6/10 office has issued unwritten
instructions allowing police and other officials to go beyond legal constraints in this campaign,
discharging them of legal responsibility if a Falun Gong practitioner dies in detention due to
beatings. " According to an Washington Post article (Sunday, August 5, 2001,) "China
Systematically Eradicating Group," Beijing's 6/10 office ordered all neighborhood committees,
state institutions, and companies to begin to use brainwashing classes, to send active members of
Falun Gong to labor camps where they are first "broken' by beatings and other torture. At the
same time, this article also reports, the 6/10 office is getting more efficient at forcing local
officials to carry out its orders on Falun Gong; they dispatch teams to local officials to ensure a
"proper attitude" toward Falun Gong in Beijing (and elsewhere in China). Similarly in the
province of Shanghai, officials from the Shanghai 6/10 Office ordered police to arrest large numbers
of Falun Gong practitioners and detain them in "re-education" classes. The campaign was to
be carried out in the name of national security and in coordination with a nationwide initiative to
employ "re-education" classed. Over 100 female Falun Gong practitioners were detained in a
women's labor camp. As a result, at least dozens of male practitioners were also forced into
"re-education through labor" camps. In addition to the arrests, arbitrary detention,
torture in police precincts and detention centers, forced-feeding in hospitals, and further abuse in
psychiatric hospitals, many practitioners have died in Shanghai while in police custody. 32. The Liao Ning and Heilongjiang Provinces are known to be among the most
repressive and abusive jurisdictions in China as regards the arrest and treatment of Falun Gong
practitioners. Since President JIANG's order banning the Falun Gong movement and calling for
suppression of their practitioners issued on July 20, 1999, and the establishment of 6/10 offices in
both provinces, at least 27 Falun Gong practitioners have died from torture inflicted in labor camps
and detention centers in Liao Ning Province, and 29 have died from torture inflicted by camps in
Heilongjiang Province. These are the two highest death tolls of Falun Gong detainees of any of the
Provinces in China. Masanjia Labor Camp, located in Shenyang City, the capital of Laio Ning
Province, is one of the most notorious prison labor camps in the country that is heavily used to
incarcerate and torture Falun Gong practitioners. Four hundred and twenty seven Falun Gong
practitioners were reported to be detained in this prison labor camp in June of 2000. 33. Together, Defendant JIANG and Defendant Office 6/10 direct the activities of
all government and Communist Party national and local officials, bureaus and units to accomplish the
control, suppression and eradication of Falun Gong in China. For example, in June of 1999,
Defendants JIANG appointed Ding Guangem, Minister of the Office of Propaganda, as one of three
directors of the National Office of the Office 6/10, thereby facilitating the Office 6/10's control
over the all media and propaganda activities of the nation. Since that time, Defendant JIANG and the
Office 6/10 have supervised a large-scale, national media and propaganda campaign directed against
the Falun Gong and its practitioners. One of their main goals has been to spread lies and
misinformation about Falun Gong to explain, justify and motivate the harshly repressive actions that
have taken place, including massive arrests, widespread torture, and a substantial number of
executions, while in police custody, who practice Falun Gong. 34. One important part of the media campaign was the government's staging of the
immolation of five actors in Tiananmen Square. This was done in a way to convince the citizens of
the China that it was not a staged immolation but real. As a result of this government campaign,
many persons in China have been convinced that practitioners of Falun Gong would engage in
self-destructive and bizarre actions. 35. By April, 2001, in his capacity as Secretary General of the Central Committee
of the Chinese Communist Party, Defendant JIANG had developed and instituted a harsher and even more
highly organized and systematic campaign of state-sanctioned violence against Falun Gong. The
methods used under this campaign of heightened repression and violence. They included even more
widespread arrests and torture by local police, more extensive use of detentions at
reform-through-labor detention centers, holding families responsible for actions of other family
members through use of economic sanctions, the withholding of salaries and retirement pay, refusing
promotions, health care and education benefits, and other arbitrarily imposed punishments. 36. The Defendants also implemented a new propaganda campaign as part of these
increased repressive efforts, replete with condemnations and denunciations of the Falun Gong
spiritual movement and its practitioners from every sector of Chinese society. An August 2001 Washington
Post News Service article entitled "Torture Is Breaking Falun Gong" described these
even more extensive anti-Falun Gong suppression activities as consisting of three major elements.
First and foremost was to increase the use of police brutality as a method for punishing and
intimidating practitioners who refused to renounce their belief. Second, was the more widespread and
systematic use of compulsory "study sessions," to force practitioners of Falun Gong to
abandon and denounce their beliefs. Third, a new and more intense propaganda campaign was instituted
to create the climate of hatred and public condemnation to support the application of more violent
sanctions on Falun Gong practitioners. 37. Defendant OFFICE 6/10 played a major role organizing and carrying out this
harsher policy. Directives issued by the OFFICE 6/10 given to the local police, prison guards, and
other government personnel mandated a heightened campaign of arbitrary detention, torture, sexual
assault, and even murder against Falun Gong practitioners. In all types of detention facilities,
including holding cells in local police precincts, detention centers, prisons, jails, labor camps,
and mental hospitals, violence and torture has become a daily tool utilized to silence and suppress
practitioners of Falun Gong. These violations include physical assault, force feeding with hot
pepper or high-density salt water, denial of food, sleep and bathroom facilities, exposure to
extreme hot and cold weather, burning with cigarettes and heated metal, and the administration of
shocks with electric batons. Women practitioners have suffered especially an array of sexual
assaults that include rape, forced abortions, and placement of electrical discharge devices in
genital areas. 38. Since July of 1999, on the national level it is estimated by Falun Info Net,
that over 100,000 practitioners have been arbitrarily and unlawfully arrested and detained in prison
facilities simply because of their beliefs, associations and activities related to the Falun Gong.
It is estimated that more than 500 of these detainees have been sentenced to prison terms of up to
18 years, with 1,000 more improperly assigned to mental hospitals to deal with practitioners by the
use of involuntary medical treatment for political purposes unrelated to medical needs that is
widely condemned by the international medical community, and that violates specific provisions of
international human rights treaties. It is estimated that over 20,000 practitioners have been sent
illegally to prison labor camps without trial. At least 361 deaths of detainees have occurred as a
result of torture inflicted while they were in the custody of law enforcement or prison personnel.
The United States Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2001
confirms that over 200 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners have occurred as a result of torture
inflicted while in detention and subject to the authority of police and prison officials. Numerous
other practitioners have been tortured solely because of their spiritual belief and social support
of Falun Gong. 39. The extent and seriousness of the persecution and abuse that is targeted
against Falun Gong practitioners, and their supporters, at both the national level, and local levels
throughout China have been confirmed and extensively documented by the U.S. Government in its
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, and most especially in its Annual Reports on
International Religious Freedom, as well as in reports issued by non-governmental human rights
monitoring groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. For example, the just issued
Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2001, issued by the U.S. Department of State in
December, 2001, includes numerous specific references to the major human rights abuses and
violations being committed against Falun Gong practitioners in an effort to eliminate them and
totally eradicate the presence of Falun Gong in China. The report describes the "crack
down" against the Falun Gong as tied to the Government of China's effort "to control and
regulate religious groups to prevent the rise of groups or sources of authority outside the control
of the Government and the Chinese Communist Party." (page 122) It notes that
"approximately 100 or more Falun Gong adherents have died in detention since 1999"
(p.122); that "many of their bodies reportedly bore signs of severe beatings and/or
torture;" that "many thousands of individuals are serving sentences in
reeducation-through-labor camps;" that "hundreds of its practitioner have been confined to
mental hospitals;" that "there have been numerous credible reports of unrepentant Falun
Gong practitioners being confined in psychiatric institutions;" that "police often used
excessive force when detaining peaceful Falun Gong protesters, including some who were elderly or
who were accompanied by small children;" and that "torture (including by electric shock
and by having hands and feet shackled and linked with crossed steel chains)" was widely
reported (page 131). The State Department Report also notes that in "September 2000 the
Secretary of State designated China a country of particular concern under the International
Religious Freedom Act for particularly serious violations of religious freedom," including its
treatment of Falun Gong practitioners. (p. 133). 40. Defendant JIANG has served as Secretary General of the Central Committee of
the Chinese Communist Party, since September 7, 1997. As such, he has exercised command authority
over the clandestine operation of the Office 6/10, at both national and local - city and province -
levels. Defendant JIANG was primarily and solely responsible for creating the Office 6/10 with its
mandate to solve the Falun Gong problem in China. He issued an edict unlawfully making the practice
of Falun Gong illegal in China in direct violation of the Constitution which not only gives the
National Congress the sole right to pass such laws, but also assures all citizens the right to
religious freedom, freedom of belief, association and peaceful expression. Since that time, and as
reflected in numerous speeches, he has continued to play a critically important role in the
continued commission of human rights abuses against Falun Gong in China. 41. Defendant JIANG served as the primary official responsible for the campaign
of persecution against Falun Gong, in concert with other high-ranking officials of the People's
Republic of China. Under Chinese law and international law, Defendant JIANG had a duty to ensure
that high-ranking officials - in Office 6/10 as well as other organs of the Government and Party -
not engage in abuses of the rights of citizens and visitors of China. As Chair of the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Defendant JIANG is obliged by the Charter of the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (Article 19, 9.29.1994) to select and appoint officials to
the most important posts in China, and to manage, supervise, and direct their behavior. By Article
four, chapter one of the Charter of the Chinese Communist Party (amended at the 15th National
Congress of the Central Communist Party), he is further obliged to criticize and report the unlawful
behavior of Communist Party officials. As Chair of the People's Republic of China, by Article 80 of
the Constitution, Defendant JIANG 's duties also include appointing and removing important
government officials. Like all public officials, by the Preamble to the Constitution, Defendant
JIANG is further required to uphold the Constitution and Chinese law, which includes the protection
of civil, democratic and other rights and freedoms of the citizens of China. These responsibilities
have been violated in the process of organizing and carrying out the campaign of persecution against
Falun Gong. 42. At all times relevant to this complaint, on information and belief, Defendant
Office 6/10 acting under the direction of and in conspiracy with Defendant JIANG, in direct
violation of the rule of law actively participated in formulating and carrying out the policy and
program that resulted in the acts of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, murder, and genocide
that form the basis of this complaint. This occurred at national and local levels, in all cities,
provinces, labor camps, detention centers, psychiatric and medical hospitals - always under the
mandate, orders, supervision and design of Defendant JIANG and Defendant Office 6/10. 43. Consistent with the general description and documentation of the serious
infringement of human rights that were carried out against Falun Gong practitioners throughout
China, each of the Plaintiffs and their families suffered very concrete injuries and losses as a
result of the actions of the Defendants and other municipal, provincial and national government
officials aimed at exterminating Falun Gong spiritual practice and its practitioners. 44. In addition to organizing and carrying out a campaign of torture, genocide
and other gross violations of international human rights directly against all persons who embrace
the spiritual practice of Falun Gong in China, the Defendants extended their efforts to discredit
and marginalize Falun Gong to other countries. Defendant Office 6/10 and other unidentified entities
and officials in China, operating under the instruction of Defendant JIANG and in conspiracy with
him, compiled a list of suspected Falun Gong "members" and supporters living abroad with
the intention and purpose of using this list to harm and discredit those whose names appeared on the
list, and to discredit the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, more generally. 45. In June of 2002, Defendants and other unidentified Chinese officials
conspired to circulate this list to the Government of Iceland and a number of other governments
throughout the world and to encourage those governments to restrict travel and movement of the
individuals on this list. In particular, the Defendants and other unidentified co-conspirators urged
those governments to prevent listed individuals from traveling to Iceland on and around June 12
through June 18 of 2002 in order to present during the official state visit of Defendant JIANG to
their country so that they might engage in peaceful meditative vigil to bring international
attention to the Defendant's role in the campaign of persecution, torture, genocide against Falun
Gong in China. Those efforts, in fact, resulted in the Government of Iceland circulating the Falun
Gong "black list" to Icelandair airlines and instructing them to not permit passage to
Iceland on Icelandair airlines to those whose names were on the list. As a result, well over a
hundred individuals residing in the United States, the great majority of whom are alien residents,
whose names appeared on the "blacklist" and who had reserved and paid for passage on
Icelandair flights, were denied passage by Icelandair, and were subjected to extreme embarrassment
and mistreatment when they arrived at airports throughout the United States to board their flights
to Iceland. Many of them were shown copies of the "blacklist' that had been compiled and
circulated by the Defendants and were told that this was the reason why their tickets for passage on
Icelandair flights were abruptly and arbitrarily cancelled. A number of other aliens residing in the
United States, who are practitioners of Falun Gong, whose transportation to Iceland were not
cancelled found themselves arbitrarily detained by Iceland customs and security personnel when they
arrived in Iceland, questioned about their spiritual beliefs, and association and
"affiliation" with Falun Gong, and held in custody for varying amounts of time in order to
keep them from participating in peaceful meditative sessions and protests in Iceland directed at the
visit of Defendant JIANG to that country. 46. These restrictive and damaging policies and practices, directed against
residents and citizens of the United States and other countries outside of China, were organized and
carried out by, and under the direction and supervision of, Defendant JIANG and Defendant Office
6/10, to the injury of a number of Falun Gong practitioners and supporters residing in the United
States. IV.SPECIFIC CAUSES OF ACTION CONSTITUTING VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS AND
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND VIOLATIONS OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF U.S. RESIDENTS 47. The following specific abuses, constituting torts involving the most serious
forms of intentionally inflicted physical and mental suffering and injury, were inflicted upon the
plaintiffs as a direct result of the actions of the Defendants and those with whom they conspired to
carry out the officially sanctioned and mandated policy of persecuting, punishing, intimidating, and
eliminating Falun Gong practitioners, and the Falun Gong spiritual practice in China. Each of these
types and forms of abuse also constituted violations of international law embodied in treaties and
in customary international practice, binding on both the United States and the Government of the
Peoples' Republic of China as indicated and explained in each paragraph below, thereby bringing
these torts within the terms of the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act, as
indicated above in paragraphs 3 through 6 in the Jurisdiction Section of this complaint. They were
carried out by the Defendants and the other officials with whom they conspired, acting in their
official capacity and/or under color of law, with the specific intent and purpose of abridging and
denying the Plaintiffs of their internationally protected human rights, and punishing, intimidating
and coercing, and in numerous cases, executing them for the exercise of those rights, in violation
of international law. Some of the enumerated violations (paragraphs 44 through 46) also constitute
violations of 42 U.S.C. section 1985. A. FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION: TORTURE 48. The Convention Against Torture, which came into effect internationally on
June 26, 1987, and was ratified by the United States on October 21, 1994 and implemented and given
domestic effect by Congress through legislation adopted in 1994 and 1998, and ratified by the
Government of China on October 4, 1998, prohibits the intentional infliction of "severe pain or
suffering, whether physical or mental" for any purpose, including but not limited to
punishment, intimidation or coercion. The infliction of torture was the first type of human rights
violation that U.S. courts recognized as authorizing the granting of relief under the Alien Tort
Claims Act, in the landmark case of Filartega v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876 (2d Cir. 1980).
Torture also is prohibited absolutely under other international instruments and treaties and under
customary international law, including Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The latter treaty came into
effect internationally on March 23, 1976, and was ratified by the U.S. on June 8, 1992, and by the
Government of the Peoples' Republic of China on October 5, 1998. The Universal Declaration is not a
treaty, but a unanimously adopted resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations that is
widely recognized as an embodiment of fundamental and universally accepted standards of customary
international law. The abusive practices imposed upon the Plaintiffs and other Falun Gong
practitioners in detention, including beatings, prolonged periods of restraint and denial of food,
water and sleep, as well as the use of instruments of torture, and being forced to witness the
torture of others, as described by Plaintiffs in paragraphs thirteen through eighteen, and twenty
three through twenty six of this complaint, constitute severe pain and suffering under the meaning
of the Convention Against Torture and the other international instruments, and thereby constitute
violations of international law under the terms of the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims
Protection Act, 28 U.S.C. section 1350. 49. As has been extensively documented by the U.S. Department of State in its
Country Reports on Human Rights and its Reports on International Religious Persecution, China has
engaged in a consistent and widespread pattern and practice of subjecting Falun Gong practitioners
to torture while in detention. Plaintiffs A, B, C, D, E, F have provided specific examples of how
they have been subjected to torture, and have suffered physical and psychological injuries as a
result of these practices that the Defendants and government officials with whom he has conspired
have promoted and supported (see paragraphs thirteen through eighteen, and twenty three through
twenty six.). B. SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION: GENOCIDE 50. Genocide is prohibited under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment
of the Crime of Genocide (referred to as the Genocide Convention), which entered into force
internationally on 12 January 1951, and was ratified by the U.S. on November 25, 1988, and by the
Peoples' Republic of China on April 18, 1983. Genocide is defined in the Convention as intentional
actions taken "to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious
group" through such means as "killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or
mental harm to members of the group, and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part...." (Article II)(a)
through (c)) The actions of the Defendants and the government officials with whom they conspired
meet this definition because they consisted of an officially condoned, instituted and intentionally
inflicted policy and practice of inflicting serious bodily harm, resulting in a number of cases
death while in detention, against members of a spiritual group aimed at punishing, intimidating and
coercing them because of their religious and spiritual beliefs, associations and practices, with the
ultimate aim of elimination of the Falun Gong spiritual movement and its practitioners. C. THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION: THE RIGHT TO LIFE 51. Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
which came into force internationally on 23 March 1976, and was ratified by the United
States on June 8, 1992, and by the Peoples' Republic of China on October 5, 1998, confirms that
"Every human being has the inherent right to life" and that "No one shall be
arbitrarily deprived of his life." This same principle is set out in Article 3 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a United Nations' General Assembly Resolution unanimously
adopted on 10 December 1948, and now interpreted as the clearest embodiment of the universal
standards of human rights enshrined in customary international law. As indicated above, an
extraordinarily large number of Falun Gong practitioners, confirmed to be over 200 100 in slightly
over two years according to the U.S. Department of State, have died in detention under conditions
that the U.S. Department of State has confirmed were likely linked to their torture. These
executions through torture can be directly attributable to the orders of harsh suppression issued by
Defendant JIANG and Defendant Falun Gong Control Office. D . FOURTH CAUSE OF ACTION: THE RIGHT TO LIBERTY 52. The right to liberty and security of the person is guaranteed by Article 3 of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Article 9 of the Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. Article 9 of the Covenant also stipulates that "No one shall be subjected to
arbitrary arrest or detention" or "deprived of his liberty" except according to
lawful procedures. Also of special relevance to the tort damage complaint that has been brought
before this Court by the Plaintiffs, Article 9 stipulates that "Anyone who has been the victim
of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right of compensation." (Article
9(5)) The U.S. Department of State Report on International Religious Freedom for 2001 confirmed
that, "During the period covered by this report ... there were many thousands of cases
throughout the year of individuals receiving criminal, administrative, and extra judicial punishment
for practicing Falun Gong, admitting that they believed in Falun Gong, or simply refusing to
denounce the organization or its founder," (p. 125) with "as many as 300 practitioners ...
sentenced to prison terms of up to 18 years for their involvement in Falun Gong," and
"many thousands of individuals are serving sentences in reeducation-through-labor camps."
(p. 1313) The State Department report indicates that between 1998 and 1999, the Law Yearbook of
China (an official publication) indicated a dramatic increase in arrests for "disturbing the
social order," from 76,500 to over 90,000, with the increase "primarily ... due to the
Government's crackdown, begun in mid-1999, on ... groups like Falun Gong...." (p. 129) The
arbitrary arrests and detentions described by the Plaintiffs in this complaint are indicative of the
type of arbitrary administration of justice that has been imposed by the Defendants in concert with
other high ranking officials on Falun Gong practitioners, resulting in the arbitrary deprivation of
liberty, and often serious injuries and deaths. F. SIXTH CAUSE OF ACTION: THE FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION, AND THE FREEDOM TO HOLD OPINIONS WITHOUT INTERFERENCE AND
TO ASSOCIATE FREELY. 53. The right to "freedom of thought, conscience and religion," and the
right to hold opinions without interference and to associate with others freely, are enshrined
in Articles 18, 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration, and Articles 18, 19 and 22 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As enumerated in the preceding sub-paragraphs,
and in the U.S. Department of State Reports on International Religious Freedom and Country Reports
on Human Rights, these internationally recognized rights and protections have been seriously
infringed by the Defendants' policies and actions banning the Falun Gong, and seeking the
repression, punishment and intimidation of their practitioners in order to end the movement. This
"harsh" and "unremitting campaign against Falun Gong" has included assigning
"many thousands" to "re-education through labor camps" and other
"facilities specifically established to 'rehabilitate' practitioners who refuse to recant
their belief voluntarily." (p. 129-131, State Dept. Report on International Religious Freedom
for 2001). Each of the identified Plaintiffs in this case have indicated how their arrest, detention
and punishment, including torture and sexual abuse, took place because of their adherence to Falun
Gong beliefs or practices, and their refusal to give up these beliefs. G. SEVENTH CAUSE OF ACTION: VIOLATIONS OF THE ABOVE-CITED RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS
AS EMBODIED IN CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW 54. Each of the above-cited violations of international treaty-based law also
involve the abridgement and violation of the same rights protections enumerated in
sub-sections A through F (above) as embodied in customary international law. It is well established
that the enumeration of these types of universally recognized rights and protections in specific
treaties do not remove them from coverage by customary international law, but merely provide an
additional treaty-based framework recognizing their internationally protected status. This
distinction, and the additional coverage by international customary law, are important, since they
provides a basis for requiring compliance with universally accepted human rights standards by all
nations and governments, whether or not they have specifically ratified individual human rights
treaties. For example, in Filartega v. Pena-Irilla, 630 F.2d 876 (2d Cir. 1980), U.S. courts
found it possible to apply the prohibitions against torture as a basis for an Alien Tort Claims Act
complaint based on customary international law as well as the treaties embodying the same
anti-torture standards. H. EIGHTH CAUSE OF ACTION: CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT 55. In addition to their tort actions constituting violations of international
law, Defendants also conspired together and with others to deprive a number of individual in the
United States of their civil rights, in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1985. Specifically, and in
conjunction with, and in support of, this campaign of repression against the Falun Gong in China,
the Defendants extended their effort to persecute and intimidate Falun Gong practitioners, and to
restrict their right to protest against Chinese Government policies of repression and torture, to
practitioners here in the United States and other Western nations. Defendants, as an integral part
of their campaign of persecution and discreditation of Falun Gong spiritual practice and its
practitioners in China, compiled a list of known practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong in other
countries and circulated this list as part of a campaign to prevent supporters and practitioners
from traveling to Iceland and other nations to protest peacefully the appearance in those countries
of the Defendants and other Chinese officials engaging in the campaign of persecution against Falun
Gong. For example, in connection with the visit of Defendant JIANG to Iceland in June of 2002, the
Defendants gave this list, which they had already compiled, to the Government of Iceland and to
Icelandair, as well as to the Icelandic Parliament, with a formal request from the Government of
China that Falun Gong practitioners be prevented from coming into the country. This list, and the
request of the Government of China played a substantial role in causing the infliction of damages
and violations of law described in this complaint. There are numerous reports that this or a similar
list of practitioners was used by the Chinese Government as early as May 7, 2001 to seek to prevent
the entry of practitioners into Hong Kong during a visit there by President Jiang. 55. These torts committed in the United States, constitute violations of the
civil rights of the U S. citizens and alien residents living in the U.S. in violation of 42 U.S.C.
section 1985, including the right to travel, the right to freely hold, observe, and exercise
spiritual beliefs, the right to associate freely with others, and the right to exercise fundamental
freedom of speech and expression. For the majority of those whose names appeared on the Falun Gong
"blacklist" compiled by the Defendants, who are alien residing in the United States, those
actions constituted violations of both 42 U.S.C. section 1985, and the Alien Tort and Torture
Victims Protection Act. V. PRAYER FOR RELIEF 56. Based on the above facts, jurisdictional claims and legal arguments, Plaintiffs, on behalf of
themselves and others similarly situated, ask for judgment against the Defendant as follows: 1. For compensatory damages according to and consistent with the injuries described, the extent
of which will be demonstrated according to evidence to be presented; 2. For punitive and exemplary damages according to and consistent with the extraordinary and
gross nature of the Defendant's conduct and the injuries it produced, the extent of which will be
demonstrated according to evidence to be presented; 3. For a declaratory judgment confirming the unlawful nature of the pattern and
practice of gross violations of human rights that have taken place, and that the Defendants played a
material part, in concert with other high-level officials in China, in planning and carrying out
these policies and practices, with the result of serious and permanent injury of the Plaintiffs; 4. For injunctive relief, consistent with the jurisdiction of this Court,
prohibiting further unlawful action resulting in serious and permanent injury to the Plaintiffs and
others in the class whom they represent; 5. For such other relief as the Court may deem suitable and necessary; and, 6. For reasonable attorneys' fees and costs associated with these proceedings,
including service of process and providing proof of the tort actions committed and the nature and
extent of the injuries they have produced, establishing and carrying out the class action elements
of the case, taking particular account of the attorney fee authorization in 42 U.S.C. section 1985. DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Pursuant to the requirements of Rule 38(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, a jury trial is demanded for this case. Dated:________ Respectfully submitted, ________________ FREDERICK S. RHINE ________________ Terri E. Marsh, Esq.
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
PLAINTIFFS A, B, C, D, E,
F, and OTHERS
SIMILARLY SITUATED, WEI YE, and
HAO WANG,
AND SECURITY OF THE PERSON, AND TO BE FREE OF ARBITRARY ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT
VIOLATIONS OF CIVIL RIGHTS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE U.S.
Chicago, IL
Washington DC
(pro hac vice)
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.cc/mh/articles/2003/2/5/44067.html
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