“On August 20th, a criminal lawsuit, charging the former Chinese communist leader Jiang Zemin with the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and state-directed torture, was submitted to the federal prosecutors by six Falun Gong practitioners in Belgium. Two of Jiang’s senior accomplices, Luo Gan (the head of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee) and Li Lanqing (the former director of the “610 office”) were also named in the lawsuit.”
The Belgian Falun Dafa Association stated the following in a letter to the media: “The lawsuit was filed under a new Belgian Law. This lawsuit is the 11th international lawsuit to emerge in the last two years against Chinese government officials or entities for their role in the persecution of Falun Gong. Three of these lawsuits in the United States have already handed down judgements against Chinese officials for torture and other crimes committed in the persecution of Falun Gong.”
A Renowned Belgian Lawyer is Representing Falun Gong in the lawsuit
According to an AFP report in Brussels, a renowned lawyer who is representing Falun Gong to sue the former Chinese communist leader stated that Jiang’s persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual movement is against Belgian humanitarian law.
AFP reported the following: Renowned lawyer Georges-Henri Beauthier, who is representing Falun Gong in this action, had previously represented the plaintiffs in the famous Mark-Datclix case; Mark was brought to justice because of kidnapping, raping and murdering. Georges-Henri Beauthier also brought the first successful case, under Belgium’s human rights law, against two Rwandan nuns for their roles in the Rwandan genocide of 1994; the two nuns were sentenced to twelve and twenty years respectively in prison.
According to the report, one of the plaintiffs in the case, Matthias Slaats, told Reuters, “a number of Falun Gong practitioners in countries including Belgium, the United States and Australia were filing similar lawsuits against Jiang Zemin for torture, crimes against humanity and genocide.”
AFP reported on August 19th: six Falun Gong practitioners officially filed a lawsuit against the former Chinese communist leader for genocide and the lawsuit was officially submitted to the Federal Prosecutors on Wednesday August 20th.
AFP stated that the lawsuit was filed under the new Belgian Law passed on August 5th, 2003. '”The new law, which covers ‘serious violations of international humanitarian law, also allows suits to be brought only if there is a link between the alleged crimes and Belgium.
One of the plaintiffs in the new case, 31-year-old Belgian computer programmer Matthias Slaats, said the lawsuit fulfilled the required criteria. “
Jiang unlawfully banned and persecuted Falun Gong
The Belgian Falun Dafa Association stated in a letter to the media:
“Between 1992 and 1999, Falun Gong flourished throughout China. The Chinese government’s own survey indicated there were between 70 and 100 million people who had taken up the practise by early 1999. Falun Gong practitioners were found in all walks of life, from farmers to bankers, from housewives to government and military officials. In July 1999, fearful and jealous that Falun Gong had touched the hearts and minds of such a broad range of Chinese people, Jiang Zemin used his power as the country’s top leader to ban the practise, an act that went against the decision of the Politburo Standing Committee members and the Premier, and was, in fact, illegal because it overstepped the power granted to Jiang by the Chinese Constitution.“
According to sources in China and thousands of testimonies from victims, Jiang implemented the persecution through a three-prong directive to all levels of government:
- Destroy Falun Gong practitioners physically through systematic, state-sanctioned forced-labour, torture and killings.
- Destroy Falun Gong practitioners’ reputations through a worldwide media campaign to demonise Falun Gong.
- Destroy Falun Gong practitioners financially. Practitioners lost their salaries/pensions, were fired from their jobs, evicted from their homes in addition to suffering widespread extortion, confiscation of property and state-enforced fines when detained by police.
This directive was carried out primarily by the 610 Office, a Gestapo-like agency Jiang created for the sole purpose of implementing his eradicate Falun Gong policy. The United States Congress has called the 610 Office an agency charged with overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong through organised brainwashing, torture, and murder.
In the last four years, almost 800 deaths from torture have been verified, while the true death toll is believed to be in the thousands. Thousands more have been forcefully incarcerated in mental hospitals where many are tortured. More than 100,000 have been sent to forced labour camps, typically without trial. And these are just the numbers we can ascertain behind the information blockade Jiang Zemin has erected around the persecution to hide the facts from the world.
A horrific form of genocide
Belgian Falun Dafa Association pointed out the following in their letter:
“But the real terror of Jiang’s genocidal policy towards Falun Gong is not found merely in the number of deaths or the number imprisoned. What Jiang unleashed in July 1999 was a horrific form of genocide that not only seeks to physically destroy 70-100 million people because they believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, but also sought to destroy that belief itself.
Police, detention centres and labour camp officials throughout China are granted awards and promotions for successfully exacting statements from Falun Gong practitioners renouncing their faith regardless of the methods they use. At the same time, they are fired from their posts and/or subjected to punishment from their superiors for failing to secure such renunciations.”
The letter also used the report of a Wall Street Journal article of the death of the 58-year-old Ms. Chen Zixiu to reveal the terror of Jiang’s genocide:
“The day before Ms. Chen Zixiu died; her captors again demanded that she renounce her faith in Falun Dafa. Barely conscious after repeated jolts from a cattle prod, the 58-year-old stubbornly shook her head.
Enraged, the local officials ordered Ms. Chen to run barefoot in the snow. Two days of torture had left her legs bruised and her short black hair matted with pus and blood, said cellmates and other prisoners who witnessed the incident. She crawled outside, vomited and collapsed. She never regained consciousness, and died on Feb.21st.”
The letter pointed out:
“This is Jiang’s horrific form of genocide: It is a terror that does not just destroy lives, but destroy’s faith itself. It is a terror that should not be allowed to exist in the modern world. It is a terror that must be brought to justice.
[...]
Last week, with the passing of the former Ugandan Dictator, Idi Amin, the world was reminded of the grave injustice done by allowing brutal dictators to go untried for their alleged crimes.
In the letter, the Belgian Falun Dafa Association called on the Belgian people, the Belgian government, the media and members of the international community to join in ensuring that justice is served, and that those who have illegally monopolised political power will not prevail.
All walks of life would be informed of the lawsuit against Jiang.
The Belgian Falun Dafa Association claimed that on August 20th when the lawsuit was officially filed with the court, all Belgian politicians, including the Belgian King, would receive a written statement from the Belgian Falun Dafa Association, announcing that the lawsuit was filed. The letter illustrated the stance of the Belgian and Worldwide Falun Dafa Associations, briefly depicting the historic steps taken by Belgian practitioners, in a hope of arousing the concern of the Belgian King over the persecution of worldwide Falun Gong practitioners.
According to the report, the spokesperson of the NVA Party has written back to express their support for the lawsuit against Jiang. The letter read, “NVA Party supports your action and sincerely hope that the legal action will lead to a positive result.”
The Belgian media had previously received the press statement of the lawsuit and some of them had interviewed Falun Gong practitioners.
Some civil organisations had written to the lawyer and the plaintiffs to express their support for the lawsuit in Belgium. The Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice wrote in its letter that the lawsuit has a deep meaning, calling on all of the power of human civilisation to bring Jiang Zemin to justice, not only in the court of law, but also in the court of human morality, human conscience and in people’s hearts throughout the world. The Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners praised the lawsuit as a deed of righteousness. Friends of Falun Gong USA expressed support for the Belgian lawsuit against Jiang in their letter, expressing that a country’s leader should not go untried for genocide.
Translated from Chinese at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200308/23500.html
* * *
You are welcome to print and circulate all articles published on Clearharmony and their content, but please quote the source.
more ...