NEW YORK, Jul 19, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) The Falun Gong spiritual movement said Wednesday it had filed a civil suit here against the visiting Public Security Chief of China's Hubei province alleging torture, murder and crimes against humanity.

The complaint was served to Zhao Zhifei in person late on Tuesday by Falun Gong practitioner Peng Liang, spokesman Adam Montanaro told AFP.

Falun Gong says Zhao serves as the second-in-command of the "610" office for Hubei Province, a unit set up by the central government to carry out and crackdown against Falun Gong and other spiritual practices.

Zhao is being targeted under the Torture Victim Protection Act and the Alien Tort Claims Act and the case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the southern district of New York, Montanaro said.

The legislation allows American jurisdiction over acts of torture committed outside the country. A lawsuit can only proceed, however, if defendants are served with legal papers while in the United States.

Falun Gong members planned to gather at a rally outside Zhao's New York hotel later on Wednesday to official publicize the suit.

Since the Chinese government banned Falun Gong [] in July 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong members have been sent to "reeducation through labor" camps, the practitioners say. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse)

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