France: Falun Gong Practitioners Sue Li Lan-qing, The Head of China’s “610 Office”

On October 4, Falun Gong practitioners sued the head of China’s “610 Office”, Li Lan-qing, in France.

On October 4, in accordance with the UN Human Right Covenant and the relevant French laws, four Falun Gong practitioners from France, Ireland and Canada, initiated the lawsuit. They worked together with well-known human right lawyers, Georges-Henri Beauthier and William Bourdon, to sue China’s First Vice President, who is also a former member on the Chinese Communist Party’s Standing Committee, for cruel torture [against Falun Gong practitioners in China]. The four plaintiffs are French citizen Irena Petty, French resident Chen Zhu-mei, Irish resident Zhao Ming and Canadian resident Wang Yu-zhi.

The “610 Office”, headed by Li Lan-qing, is very much similar to the “Central Cultural Revolution Commission” during the Great Cultural Revolution. It is a Gestapo-like organisation, empowered with special authority to control all the central and local organisations. It’s has absolute jurisdiction including government agencies, party units, public security offices, courts, labour camps, national security offices and mass media in China. It is also the headquarters established to systematically persecute Falun Gong and carry out its “national terrorism” policy. This Office instructs police officers to afflict Falun Gong practitioners with cruel torture, sex abuse and even murder without restriction. Furthermore, it also overseas the establishing of compulsory “Brainwashing Classes”.

The lawyer representing the plaintiffs to deal with this case is Georges-Henri Beauthier. He said that in terms of the prosecution against Chinese government officials, who abuse human rights, this is by no means the last case. They will continue to bring those guilty Chinese government officials to trial.

During the past three years or so, the Falun Gong practitioners around the world have been under Jiang’s brutal suppression, but they insist on appealing against this evil persecution with a peaceful, rational and tolerant attitude.

This is the first case in which Chinese officials, who have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners, have been sued in Europe. European legal and human rights communities have largely paid attention to the case. It may set a precedent, leading to the situation in which any Chinese officials who participates in or gives orders to persecute Falun Gong practitioners will face prosecution while entering Europe.

Translated from: http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200212/14989.html