Japan: Falun Dafa Association and Attorney Hold Seminar on Lawsuit Against Jiang Zemin

On the afternoon of July 2nd 2005, the Falun Dafa Association of Japan and the plaintiff's attorney for the lawsuit filed with the Osaka Local Court against the chief perpetrator of the persecution of Falun Gong, Jiang Zemin and his accomplices, including Luo Gan, Li Lanqing, Xia Deren and the Chinese Embassy in Japan, held a seminar in Tokyo entitled "Stop the Genocide." About 100 Chinese and Japanese people attended.

Seminar venue	Plaintiff's attorney gives speech

During the seminar, the video "Trial of Jiang Zemin" and the fifth of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party by The Epoch Times were shown. Some plaintiffs narrated their suffering from torture in China, leading to lively discussion.

This lawsuit against a dictator from another country is the first of its kind in Japan's judicial circles. The plaintiff's attorney said that the purpose of the seminar was to introduce the lawsuit against Jiang to the judicial circle in Tokyo, and to all those paying attention to Chinese human rights, and to have more Japanese people learn about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s violation of human rights.

The attorney then explained the lawsuit process. Six months before the lawsuit, Falun Gong practitioners studying in Japan explained to him about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. He did a deep investigation and found that there were baseless slanderous articles on the Chinese Embassy's website. He said that anyone could find out the truth if they so desired. He thought that the libel case against the embassy could be filed. Victims in Japan could be witnesses, and thus the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and his three accomplices was filed. Also a total of 60 million Yen in compensatory damage was sought in the lawsuit.

Representative from Falun Dafa Association of Japan gives a speech

A representative from the Falun Dafa Association of Japan gave a speech and introduced Falun Gong. He also explained facts about the Jiang faction's persecution of practitioners. He said, "So far, more than 2600 practitioners have been tortured to death in China and documented. More than 6000 practitioners were unlawfully sentenced to prison. More than 100,000 practitioners were unlawfully sent to forced labour camps. Several thousand practitioners were forcibly sent to mental hospitals. In addition, the CCP regime extends the persecution to overseas, such as by dispatching spies to conduct illegal acts."

A representative from the Global Coalition to Bring Jiang to Justice introduced the establishment process of the coalition. He pointed out that Jiang, being primarily responsible for the persecution, had been sued in 15 countries. The group of attorneys is composed of 35 lawyers from 35 countries. So far 47 lawsuits have been filed against Jiang and his 22 followers in the persecution. It is the largest international human rights lawsuit since World War II.

Plaintiff Ms. Yoko Kaneko narrates her suffering from torture	Ms. Fan Yue narrates her suffering from torture

At the seminar, Ms. Yoko Kaneko narrated her suffering from torture. In May 2002, she was unlawfully sent to a forced labour camp for one and a half years for distributing truth-clarification flyers in Beijing. She was brutally tortured with various torture methods, and deprived of sleep for as long as over 20 days. In the labour camp, she was forced to perform slave labour making products from around 5:00 a.m. to around 10:00 p.m. daily. Her health deteriorated in this inhumane environment. Her blood pressure became high and she could not see during some days. She said she was lucky to return to Japan, thanks to help from the Japanese government, the Japanese people and all practitioners. She also expressed her appreciation.

Ms. Yoko Kaneko said, "The brutal persecution of practitioners in China is crueler now. So far more than 2649 practitioners have been tortured to death. Jiang initiated the persecution and is the chief persecutor. To end the persecution as early as possible, lawsuits against Jiang have been filed in 15 countries, including Japan. In representing practitioners being persecuted in China, I thank the lawyers in Japan. I'll work harder to help end the persecution."

The other victim, Ms. Fan Yue, said that she was imprisoned in the same detention centre as Ms. Gao Rongrong, who was tortured to disfigurement and murdered. Ms. Fan was forced to sit on a 20 cm. long and 10 cm. wide (8 in. by 4 in.) stool for an extended period of time. In the Yaojia Detention Centre, she did not have any freedom. Practitioners were given poor food. She said, "In Zhoushuizi Labour Camp, Dalian, guards tortured me and other practitioners. We were tortured with a method called "hang and beat." Police asked female inmates to tie, hang, and brutally beat us. They used chair backs to torture my private parts and ribbons to tie and hang me. They then pulled my legs apart and beat my private parts, palms and arches with a wooden club. They cursed me with dirty words and tortured me for nearly 30 minutes."

Ms. Fan said, "I am lucky to be alive and be here in Japan to have a normal life after the persecution and torture. There are still countless practitioners being persecuted more brutally. I encourage kind-hearted people in the world to raise righteous voices to help end this tragedy."

In the seminar, the host also read congratulatory letters from a Japan congressman, a professor and a former Japan government official.