Germany: Court Judgement in Favour of Falun Gong

On the morning of February 1st, 2006, the Administration Court of Dresden, the state capital of Sachsen, Germany, announced a judgement. It ruled that the actions taken by the German police against a Falun Gong practitioner during the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s visit to Germany in 2002 were illegal.

Ms Wang Jing

The incident occurred in Dresden on April 11th 2002, when Ms Wang Jing, a Falun Gong practitioner, was entering the hotel where Jiang Zemin would take dinner. Ms. Wang was stopped by two German police officers. She was asked to show identification documents. After her personal information was recorded by the police officers, she was ordered to leave. At the same time when she was interrogated by the police, many people passed by her without being interfered with by the police.

Subsequent to the incident, Ms. Wang made several attempts to establish direct negotiations with the police through Sachsen’s Interior Affairs Department but failed. As a result, she filed a lawsuit in April 2003 against the actions of the Dresden’s police.

In the court session held on February 1st, 2006, the three judges handling the lawsuit adjudicated: (1) It was illegal of the police to ask Ms. Wang to present her identification documents; (2) It was illegal of the police to record Ms. Wang’s personal information; and (3) It was illegal of the police to order Ms. Wang to leave. The written court decision will be released soon.

As the plaintiff, Ms. Wang indicated that she was pleased to know about the court ruling. She said, “Four years ago, the German government and police officers surrendered themselves to the pressure of the Chinese communist regime and infringed the legal rights of a Falun Gong practitioner. By doing so, they have equivalently become an accomplice in persecuting Falun Gong outside China. This is a shame to Germany, a country proud of its democracy and ruled by law. It has also damaged the foundation upon which this country was built. I am glad about this upright decision of the court. It is a strong signal to the German government and police that they shouldn’t have submitted themselves to the pressure of a foreign regime and abandoned their principles.

Ms. Wang’s case is just one among many police’ interferences during Jiang’s state visit to Germany in 2002. Similar incidents occurred in almost every city that he visited, including Berlin, Meissen, Goslar, Dresden and Potsdam. Falun Gong practitioners who took accommodation in the same hotel as Jiang were forced to vacate by German police under the pressure of the Chinese communist regime. Practitioners wearing yellow jackets imprinted with “Falun Gong” were forbidden from entering certain areas. Vehicles showing Falun Gong stickers were stopped by the police for examination and some of them were detained for hours. Falun Gong practitioners’ banners were grabbed and taken away by the police.

After these incidents' occurrence, Falun Gong practitioners filed lawsuits against the corresponding interior affairs department and police department in each state. With the exception of Sachsen, Falun Gong practitioners have reached settlements with the government units in all of the other states after court mediation. In addition to the interior affairs departments and the police departments of the involved states, the Federal Department of Interior Affairs has also issued public written apologies and promised that certain measures will be taken to ensure the infringement of Falun Gong practitioners’ rights will not occur ever again.

In addition to Ms. Wang’s case, court sessions will be opened soon for two other cases which happened in Sachsen.