A Magazine called "Human Rights" Reports on the Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin in Germany

The following is an article entitled “Suing Jiang Zemin in Germany”, which was featured in the latest publication of “Human Rights”, a quarterly magazine published by the International Human Rights Association in Germany. The article is about the lawsuit filed by Falun Gong practitioners in Germany against former Chinese president Jiang Zemin, for genocide and crimes against humanity. The lawsuit was filed under the German International Criminal Code that was brought into effect in June 2002.

The article began with an account made by Ms. Wang Yuzhi, one of the plaintiffs. Ms. Wang said, “I wake up very often because of bad dreams at night. The horrible torture and screaming voices asking for help linger in my mind. I can no longer keep silent. I have to sue the primary instigator who caused this calamity.” The article described the inhuman persecution that Ms. Wang has suffered in China since July 1999 because she practises Falun Gong, including the barbaric force-feeding and brutal torture. On several occasions, the persecution left her on the verge of death.

Jiang’s policy against Falun Gong practitioners is: “eliminate them physically, destroy them mentally, and ruin them financially”. To avoid further persecution, Wang Yuzhi went into exile in the United Arab Emirates on June 1 2002. The Chinese Embassy asserted that she was a terrorist. Due to pressure from the Chinese government, she was arrested by the police in the United Arab Emirates and was about to be deported back to China. Through the appeals of Canadian Falun Gong practitioners, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs issued a special visa to her within two days. She finally arrived in Canada on November the 11th 2002.

The article said that Ms. Wang would be one of the plaintiffs of the lawsuit filed in a German court against Jiang Zemin for genocide and crimes against humanity. According to international law, during Jiang’s persecution against Falun Gong, crimes against humanity and genocide have been committed due to the severity and systematic nature, as well as the scope of this persecution. A clause in the criminal investigations of genocide and crimes against humanity section in Germany’s International Criminal Code states, “This law is applicable to all criminal conduct that infringes international law, including those that occur in other countries or have no influence in Germany.”

The article continued to explain that Falun Gong practitioners in Germany accuse the former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, and other responsible persons of committing genocide and crimes against humanity. The accusation is neither an individual retaliation, nor a political movement against the Chinese government. Instead, it is a journey away from keeping silent to waking up the general public. Along this peaceful journey, it has been illustrated that the outside world knows all about the crimes occurring in China, and that the judiciary capability of a democratic country can protect human dignity and life. At the same time, the lawsuit has also aroused the conscience of the criminals involved in these crimes. To uphold and rekindle human dignity, morality and justice, all of the plaintiffs filed the joint lawsuit on their own free will.

The plaintiffs of the lawsuit included more than thirty victims who live outside China, the German Falun Dafa Association, and proactive German citizens. They were concerned about the dangerous situations of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and the further spread of the slander and persecution against Falun Gong overseas. The physical manifestation of this is intimidation and the rejection of passport renewals or issues. The indictment also detailed the facts of what happened to the 800 Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted to death, and the several thousand victims that have been tortured.

The article in "Human Rights" quarterly concluded with a piece on how the filing of this lawsuit has encouraged the realisation of hope, and will strengthen opposition to the persecution in China. The persecution against Falun Gong will to come to an end quickly and unconditionally.

According to the German Falun Gong Information Centre, the indictment document of the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Germany’s federal government in the near future.