Geneva: Zhang Cuiying Files a Petition against Jiang Zemin to the United Nations Human Rights Commission

At 3pm on April the 7th 2004, renowned Chinese Australian artist and Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Cuiying filed a petition to the United Nations human Rights Commission via human rights attorney Mr. Christ Nyst. The petition is against Jiang Zemin who initiated the persecution against Falun Gong in China. This is the first case filed by an individual to the United Nations on the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Mr. Christ Nyst and plaintiff Ms. Zhang Cuiying

Zhang Cuiying was imprisoned for eight months in 2000 by Jiang's regime for petitioning to the Chinese Government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. In prison she was tortured and abused. Later she was released after rescue operations by the Australian Government and international media. The petition describes her arrest, torture and deprivation of human rights in detail. The petition states that the persecution that Zhang Cuiying suffered violated the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and the United Nations Convention against Torture.

On April the 8th 2004, Cuiying and her attorney Mr. Nyst announced the petition in a press conference in Geneva. In answering the question why she wants to file a petition against Jiang Zemin to the United Nations, Cuiying said, "My goal is to bring Jiang Zemin, the main culprit of the brutal persecution of hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China to justice and end this catastrophe against humanity. This persecution is based on lies. The United Nations is a world organization to protect human rights and maintain peace. China is a member of the Untied Nations. Jiang's atrocities violate the United Nations charter. Therefore I want to file the petition to the United Nations and let people throughout the world try him."

Zhang Cuiying said that the petition to the United Nations would not affect China's image. "We've meet many officials from every country in Geneva. They have put forward protests over China's human rights. If China can improve its human rights this time, all governments in the world will respect Chinese people and their government."

Mr. Nyst said that the international community cannot accept these appalling human rights violations in China. From many aspects China is a new region full of business opportunities for western countries. However, this must not be at the expense of ignoring human rights and allowing the Chinese people's freedom to be trampled on.

Mr. Nyst hopes that United Nations can make a judgement on the Chinese government's persecution through an investigation, which may also act to stop the persecution. He hoped that United Nations could explain to the Chinese Government that China's human rights situation has not met the necessary standards, especially with regards to the persecution of Falun Gong. When a reporter asked him if the petition would be successful, he said that he would come back again and again until he wins the case.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission has accepted the petition and sent copies to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of belief. The working group and special rapporteurs' normal procedures are likely to lead them to verify the facts of the Chinese Government's persecution of Falun Gong described in the petition, determine the persons responsible and offer a written reply to the petitioner.

Since Jiang's group started the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, 939 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners due to police torture have been documented via non-governmental channels. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other third parties verified the information. However, internal sources from China indicate that the number of deaths is much more. Hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained, sent to forced labor camps, tortured and forced to live under immense pressure. As the initiator and main persecutor of the persecution, Jiang Zemin has become the subject of lawsuits in Chicago, Spain, Taiwan, Germany, Korea, and Belgium for his crimes of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.