Texas State Representative Elliott Naishtat Writes to U.S. Department of Justice Concerning the Lawsuit Against the Former Chinese Leader

May 8, 2003

Robert D. McCallem, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General-Civil Division
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. McCallem:

I am writing to urge the Department of Justice to reconsider its decision to drop the lawsuit against former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin for his role in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. I share the concern of many of my constituents in Austin, Texas that Falun Gong practitioners are suffering from wrongful arrests and imprisonment, torture and sometimes death in China.

Falun Gong practitioners in the United States filed a case in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in October of 2002. The case, Plaintiffs A, B, C, D, E, and F, and others similarly situated, Wei Ye and Hao Wang v. Jiang Zemin and Falun Gong Control Office (A.K.A Office 6/10), addresses several allegations, including torture and genocide. In keeping with our country's commitment to addressing human rights violations in the international community, I encourage the Department to fully consider the case.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Elliott Naishtat