Radio Free Asia: Canadian Falun Gong Practitioners File Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin

(Clearwisdom.net) Six Falun Gong practitioners in Canada filed a civil lawsuit in Ontario Superior Court against former Secretary-General of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin and four other senior officials and are seeking 20 million Canadian dollars in damages. The following is reported by Xi Hong, special correspondent of Radio Free Asia in Canada.

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On Tuesday, six Falun Gong practitioners in Canada and their attorneys held a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to announce the civil lawsuit they filed in Ontario Superior Court against former Secretary-General of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin and other four senior officials.

This lawsuit charges Jiang for initiating the campaign of suppression against Falun Gong in China in 1999. As a result, the plaintiffs suffered both physical torture and mental persecution. They are seeking $20 million in damages. The other four defendants are Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Wang Maolin, who are all officials of the "610 Office", a special organization dedicated to persecuting Falun Gong.

A group of four solicitors voluntarily represents the Falun Gong practitioners in this lawsuit. Attorney Ms. Kate Kempton stated at the press conference that this lawsuit would have a great impact on the judicial circle in Canada. She said the lawsuit filed is an unprecedented and very powerful suit. She reminded people that one could prosecute a country's former or current head in any other countries if he committed crimes in his own country.

Ms. Kempton introduced that although the plaintiffs experienced the persecution in China, as Canadian citizens or permanent residents, they are now still suffering the impact brought by the persecution both physically and mentally.

Ms. Kempton said that the compensation of $20 million is just symbolic. The plaintiffs hoped to establish a precedent through this case in judicial history that will help the victims to uphold justice. At the same time, they hope to bring more attention from media and people through this case to China's (Jiang faction's) suppression of Falun Gong practitioners.

She said that the main purpose of this case is not about the compensation. No matter how much money the defendants would pay, it would impossible to compensate for the immense loss caused by this persecution.

One of the plaintiffs, Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Zhang Kunlun is a sculptor. He has won several awards in China and other countries and his name is listed in the world celebrity collection. He has been detained five times in China and was tortured in jails.

Another plaintiff Mr. He Zhili is a senior engineer. He won the Gold Medal Prize for China's National Outstanding Engineering Design. He had been imprisoned in China for three years and six months.

Before this lawsuit, Falun Gong practitioners in Toronto and Vancouver filed similar lawsuits charging crimes against humanity and genocide with the Ontario Supreme Court and the Canadian Chief Prosecutor.

The above is reported by RFA correspondent Xi Hong from Canada.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/11/18/89474.html

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