By Minghui/Clearwisdom reporter Ye Linghui

(Clearwisdom.net) On July 17, 2006, the plaintiffs, who have filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and four other Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials for torture, requested the court be dispensed with service to the defendants of the statement of claim and other court materials. The Ontario Superior Court granted their request. Plaintiffs' attorney Kate Kempton said, "The victory clears the way for a default judgment on the civil lawsuit."

The lawsuit accused that the five defendants including Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Li Lanqing, Liu Jing and Wang Maolin orchestrated together a systematic and brutal persecution of the six Canadian plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of other Falun Gong practitioners in China. One of the plaintiffs, Professor Kunlun Zhang, was a Canadian citizen at the time of his detention and torture in China.

The CCP authorities have refused to accept the documents that the plaintiffs delivered through normal legal procedure.

Master Glustein of the Ontario Superior Court said in the five-page decision, "The plaintiffs have done everything in [their] power to effect service of the claim."

He also stated that it is in the interests of justice that service be dispensed with so that the case may proceed. "The plaintiffs will not be able to pursue any of these claims (systematic persecution and violations of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity) unless the Court dispenses with service."

Six plaintiffs were satisfied with the court's decision, and hoped that the court will continue upholding justice in the proceeding later. If the defendants do not respond to the suit, the trial will go by default.

One of the plaintiffs He Lizhi was illegally detained for three years and six months by the CCP for practicing Falun Gong prior to his arrival in Canada in 2004. He expressed that the court's decision heartened him.

On November 15, 2004, Canadian citizen Kunlun Zhang and five other Ontario residents filed a civil lawsuit with the Ontario Supreme Court against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and CCP high-ranking officials including Li Lanqing, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Wang Maolin. These people are primarily responsible for the torture and persecution imposed upon the six plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of other Falun Gong practitioners.

This case is one of 54 civil and criminal legal proceedings in 33 countries, against Jiang and other officials. Falun Gong practitioners have won several default judgments around the world.

Posting date: 8/2/2006
Original article date: 8/1/2006
Category: News & Media Reports
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/8/1/134498.html

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