Former President of China Faces Lawsuit for Torture and Genocide

newswire at XINZHONGHUA.NET newswire at XINZHONGHUA.NET
2003. Május. 8., Cs, 13:15:16 CEST


Dear Madam or Sir: 

 

We are writing in to inform you about the gross human rights violations practitioners of Falun Gong are suffering at the hands of their own government in Mainland China and more specifically how North Americans are using their legal system to bring the truth of this hidden persecution to light. We are contacting you as part of a larger effort to inform all segments of society regarding the true situation behind the Great Wall: a truth the Chinese regime has tried by all means to hide from the world.

 

The former leader of China, Jiang Zemin, is being sued for genocide in a US Federal Court in Chicago.  He is being sued for gross violations of human rights and crimes against humanity because of his brutal persecution of Falun Gong.  The lawsuit was filed in October 2002 during Jiang's visit to the US.  For a copy of the complaint, please read Summary of Lawsuit below or visit: http://www.flgjustice.org/.

 

This lawsuit is not going to compensate for the pain and suffering inflicted on the victims and their families inside and outside China, nor can it restore the lives of the hundreds who have been tortured to death. However, by having more people know about this lawsuit, these crimes against humanity will be exposed. Not only will the victims to score a moral victory the kind that no court can grant, it will send a powerful message to Beijing because the atrocities are still ongoing and the death toll is escalating.  

 

We hope you do not find this email impersonal and are glad you have taken the time to read it. As peaceful and compassionate people we have only words to use against an oppressor so gigantic, but just by knowing about this lawsuit and spreading the news about it, you will have upheld human dignity and human rights. Canadians are very much involved in the peaceful appeal to stop the persecution of Falun Gong.  Several Canadian Falun Gong practitioners have family members held in prisons or forced labor camps in China.  Due to the overwhelming support from the public and Canadian officials from all levels we have successfully freed 11 of them from forced labour camps or prisons. 

 

What is Falun Gong and why is it persecuted in China? Falun Gong is a health-inducing set of exercises based on ancient Chinese insights into the human mind, body and spirit.  Its teachings encourage people to cultivate virtue, morality and kindness.  Due to its incredible popularity in China the insecure President (Jiang Zemin ) began to senselessly persecute Falun Gong practitioners in 1999. To know more read Background of Practice below. 

 

If you would like to help or have any questions do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your time and concern.  Let us stop the persecution and bring Jiang Zemin to justice. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Falun Gong Practitioners of Ontario 

Summary of Lawsuit

 

On October 18, 2002, individual plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division against Jiang Zemin and Falun Gong Control Office (Office 6/10). The complaint was filed under seal and the defendants were served by alternate service upon security agents designated by the courts as appropriate substitutes for personal service on October 22, 2002.

 

The lawsuit 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. § 1350) and the Torture Victims Protection Act (106 Stat. 73 (1992)).  

 

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, who 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.  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. 

 

Specific causes of action pleaded in the complaint are torture; genocide; the right to life; the right to liberty and security of the person, and to be free of arbitrary arrest and imprisonment; the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to associate freely; violations of the above-cited rights and protections as embodied in customary international law; and conspiracy to commit violations of civil rights within the jurisdiction of the U.S.   

      

http://www.flgjustice.org

 

________________________________

 

Background of Practice

 

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice with teachings based on the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Since its introduction in 1992, it spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries. Experts say that China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999, fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of its citizens more than the Communist Party. To justify their brutal crackdown, the Chinese government launched an intensive defamation campaign against Falun Gong. This smear propaganda campaign extends far overseas and has reached international media and foreign governments.  China has repeatedly violated at least 30 articles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and 9 articles of the Chinese Constitution. Details of 669 deaths in police custody have been reported since the persecution began. However, government officials inside China say the actual death toll is a lot higher. Over 100,000 have been sentenced to forced labor camps without trial. Some of the most barbaric methods are being used, including: women being stripped naked and thrown into male criminal cells, rape, forced abortion, forced injections of drugs in mental hospitals, and cremation of practitioners who had been severely tortured but were still alive. Horrifying torture methods are too numerous to mention. For more information on the persecution, visit www.faluninfo.net. Please take note of the fact that despite the persecution not a single act of retaliation by practitioners has been reported.

 

Since the crackdown, Falun Gong has gained worldwide support from many governments and international organizations. The practice has received about 1,000 awards and proclamations, and its founder, Li Hongzhi, has been three times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. The Canadian Parliament unanimously passed motion (M-236) to help free 13 family members of Canadians who are being tortured in China. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on 15 Feb. 2001 calling on the regime in China to respect the human rights of the practitioners. The US House of Congress passed resolution 188 unanimously in July 25, 2002 using the harshest language yet to condemn this persecution. Many international organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House etc. have documented the atrocities committed against Falun Gong practitioners.  Specific reports can be viewed on Amnesty International's website at www.stoptorture.org and on the United Nation's website at www.un.org/rights.  

 

More information can be obtained at the following links:

 

Motion 236 - Canadian Parliament Unanimously Passes Motion Requesting the Release of 13 Falun Gong Practitioners' Family Members

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/10/25/28015p.html

 

News Release: Survivor of China's Wanjia Labor Camp Lands in Canada after Emergency Rescue Effort http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/11/15/28763p.html

Interview with Prof. Irwin Cotler, Member of Parliament and Renowned Human Rights Lawyer

http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2002/4/26/21358p.html 
 

Canada's Governor General's Congratulatory Letter http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2000/8/21/7297.html



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