(Clearwisdom.net August 16, 2003) Ireland is a country with a population of only 3 to 4 million, a small island on the western flank of the European continent. But in such a small country so far away from China, people have still been the victims of Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin's campaign of persecution against Falun Gong. Falun Gong practitioners in Ireland are working together with a team of prominent Irish lawyers to launch a lawsuit and bring Jiang Zemin to justice in Ireland.

The following are examples of the persecution of Ireland's practitioners due to Jiang Zemin's campaign of Genocide against Falun Gong.

• Mr. Zhao Ming, a student of Trinity College Dublin, was tortured in a Chinese labor camp for almost two years. His case has been included in this year's report by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the latest annual report of Amnesty International.
• Two registered college students in Dublin, Mr. Feng Liu and Ms. Fang, Yang and Mr. Feng Liu's wife Xiaona Zhang, who has gained admission to a Dublin college, are being held in China and not allowed to travel to their studies in Ireland because they practice Falun Gong. In particular, Mr. Feng Liu has been detained in a labor camp without trial.
• Mr. Gerald O'Connor was beaten by Chinese police when he bravely appealed for Falun Gong peacefully in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
• Ms. Dongxue Dai's two sisters and one brother were put into labor camps and detention centers for practicing Falun Gong. Her mother died after learning that her children were persecuted so badly. The Chinese Embassy refused to renew Dongxue's passport because she refused to renounce her beliefs in Falun Gong.

In Ireland more and more Irish citizens are coming to the weekly Falun Gong class at Trinity College in Dublin city center. The national TV station RTE has made at least three special feature programs about Falun Gong practitioners in Ireland. However, the Chinese Embassy sent materials to Irish Parliament members that slandered Falun Gong in an attempt to incite hatred against Falun Gong practitioners. This behavior has harmed all Falun Gong practitioners in Ireland. The Chinese Embassy also refused to renew the passports of a number Falun Gong practitioners in Ireland.

Irish practitioner Zhao Ming is a plaintiff in a series of pending legal cases in various countries to sue the Chinese officials who have persecuted Falun Gong. One of these cases has been accepted by a court and has recently commenced the due legal process. Mr. Zhao said, "I was tortured very badly when I was in the labor camps in Beijing. But what I experienced was far less severe than many of my fellow practitioners in China. Now I have learned of four deaths of my friends or the family members of my friends. The number of deaths that we have recorded has reached more than 770. The persecution of Falun Gong in China is violating both Chinese law and international law, and that being so we are mounting these challenges to bring these criminals to justice. We are not against China, its people or its government."

Spokesman of the Irish Falun Dafa Association Mr. Gerald O'Connor said "The situation of people in Ireland suffering from the persecution of Falun Gong shows this persecution is not a domestic affair of China. It has now reached international proportions."

An Irish Falun Gong practitioner, who is a retired UK barrister, said, "Ireland has signed and ratified the International Convention against torture. Therefore it may be possible to bring a case to court in Ireland to sue Jiang Zemin within the realms of international law." He further stated, "The establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda reaffirms that individuals who violate fundamental humanitarian norms can be held responsible by the international community. Regarding the large scale persecution happening in China, I think a special International Tribunal should be established as well."

Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200308/14475.html

Posting date: 8/17/2003
Original article date: 8/16/2003
Category: Falun Dafa Worldwide

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