Chile & Bolivia: Criminal Lawsuits Filed Against Jiang Zemin And Other High Ranking Chinese Officials During Hu Jintao's Visit to South America
(Clearwisdom.net) During Chinese president Hu Jintao's
visit to Chile for the 2004 APEC Summit, Falun Gong practitioners filed a
criminal lawsuit for the crimes of genocide and torture against former Chinese
President Jiang Zemin and other high ranking Chinese officials. On the 18th of November 2004, the same day Hu
Jintao arrived for the APEC Summit, a criminal lawsuit was filed in
the Chilean capital of Santiago against various Chinese officials who are
directly implicated in the persecution of Falun Gong. The lawsuit specifically
accuses four Chinese officials, Jiang Zemin, China's former president; Luo Gan,
former Minister of Public Security; Li Lanqing, a high ranking member of the
Communist Party, and Bo Xilai, the current Minister of Commerce and former
governor of Liaoning Province, for crimes committed against Falun Gong
practitioners during the persecution. Their crimes include genocide, kidnapping,
torture and cruelty. Chile's legal code recognizes the principle of universal
jurisdiction for such serious crimes. The lawsuit was signed by five Falun Gong
practitioners, who were represented by three Chilean human rights lawyers, Mrs.
Hiram Villagra Castro, Mr. Hugo Humberto Gálvez and Mr. Cristian Pablo Campos. Chile was the final stop for Mr. Hu Jintao during his
visit to South America, having visited both Brazil and Argentina before arriving
for the APEC Summit, where he signed various lucrative trade agreements between
these Latin American nations. Criminal lawsuit filed against Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan in Bolivia On the afternoon of November 16th, 2004, another lawsuit was
filed in neighboring Bolivia. The Bolivian lawsuit is against Jiang Zemin and
Luo Gan for the crimes of genocide, torture, reduction to the state of slavehood
or a similar state, threats, and the violation of liberty, which has been
inflicted on millions of Falun Gong practitioners. It is a criminal lawsuit and
was filed by Bolivian lawyers Don Marcos Zabalaga and Don Miguel Mardoñez. The
lawsuit itself came as the result of one the lawyer's personal interest in this
persecution, after having been very moved when he first learned about it. The
defense of human rights, life and people's dignity should be carried out in all
countries of the world. This was the message lawyer Miguel Mardoñez conveyed to
explain the legal actions in Bolivia. The lawyers offered their time and efforts
free of any charge, having been deeply moved from their hearts. Bolivia's general prosecutor, with his office in the city of
Sucre, received the lawsuit on November 16th. The lawsuit details the
brutal persecution of millions of practitioners of Falun Gong and the cruel
practices carried out in labor camps and the horrible tortures and mass murders.
The crimes are the direct responsibilities of Jiang Zemin and Lou Gan. Lou Gan
was director of the 610 Office, an extrajudicial body that coordinated and
directed the persecution across China. The lawyers specifically requested that
the prosecutor send a copy of the lawsuit to the Ambassador of China in Bolivia,
so that he, as the Chinese authority in Bolivia, have knowledge of this legal
action. In the lawsuit the prosecutor is asked specifically for
international arrest warrants for Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan, so that those
responsible for the crimes can be brought before the Bolivian courts. The
lawsuit for genocide is based on the Bolivian criminal code, which states that
the Bolivian justice system is competent to prosecute the crime of genocide. The lawsuit has been supported by 16 victims and was signed
in the presence of one of the victims, Mrs. Dai Zhizhen, whose husband was
tortured to death at the young age of 34, leaving without a father his daughter
recently born. Human rights affect the entire international community and
therefore, all countries should show solidarity to put an end to acts of
genocide and torture, like those carried out by defendants Jiang Zemin and Luo
Gan, asking that ultimately justice be made for the victims and their families.
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