(Minghui.org) “By submitting legal complaints against Jiang Zemin in China, Falun Gong believers have given the country, its leaders and people, a gift – the chance to return China to its grand and rightful place on the human stage,” said Dr. Terri Marsh, executive director of Human Rights Law Foundation.
Dr. Marsh is also the attorney who put forth the first case against Jiang Zemin. Jiang is the then head of the Chinese Communist Party who launched the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.
Dr. Terri Marsh, executive director of Human Rights Law Foundation
In Dr. Marsh’s view, “to restore China to its former grandeur, grace, and majesty, the Chinese people and their leaders must acknowledge the widespread crimes perpetrated against Falun Gong in China by Jiang Zemin.
“This cannot happen without coming to terms with its current and past persecutory campaign against Falun Gong. This cannot happen without holding the person most responsible for these immoral acts accountable.
“Accordingly, the Human Rights Law Foundation calls upon the good people of China to support this effort. Do whatever you can to help bring Jiang Zemin to justice and hold him accountable for his crimes,” said Dr. Marsh.
“We call upon key leaders at the prosecutorial offices to officially indict Jiang Zemin based on his violations of Chinese and International law.” The foundation is also calling upon key leaders of the justice system to put Jiang Zemin on trial in a court of law in China and sentence him justly under the legal standards of Chinese and International law.
Courts Affirm Jiang’s Leading Role in Launching the Persecution
Jiang’s launching and leadership role in the persecution seems to be a widely accepted fact by legal professionals and courts worldwide.
Many human rights lawyers have filed civil and criminal cases against Jiang Zemin in countries and areas including Belgium, Spain, Taiwan, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Bolivia, Chile, the Netherlands, Peru, Japan, Sweden, Argentina, and Hong Kong. Requests and complaints were also made to the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights, and the International Criminal Court.
She explained, “The crimes of Jiang Zemin are fundamentally different from those of all others by the depths of depravity they encompass. The suffering these crimes have inflicted upon Falun Gong believers, their friends, colleagues and families across China cannot be overstated.”
“Apart from the rampant use of ideological conversion/torture practices, gang rape, rape, and other forms of gender-based abuses have been routinely used to coerce forced confessions from women who practice Falun Gong in China, including the elderly and prepubescent young girls,” she added. “The use of organ harvesting against Falun Gong practitioners in China remains widespread and systematic.”
Thirty-nine members of the United States Congress filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court in Illinois on June 11, 2003, urging the court to proceed with the lawsuit against Zemin. Congressman Tom Lantos, the ranking Democrat in the House Foreign Relations Committee, authored the brief, which thirty-eight of his colleagues endorsed.
The brief stated that reputable sources such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the State Department’s own Country Report on Human Rights have documented severe and systematic human rights abuses by Jiang’s government against his own people.
According to Dr. Marsh, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed Plaintiffs’ allegations of torture and ill treatment at the hands of Jiang Zemin, acknowledging (among other things) that Jiang Zemin established the “Leadership Team” and its 610 Office to persecute Falun Gong.
More generally they held Jiang Zemin responsible for the “mass arrests, torture, 're-education,' and killing” of Falun Gong Plaintiffs.
In another unprecedented decision, Argentina Judge Octavio Araoz de Lamadrid allowed the case filed by Falun Gong in Argentina against Jiang Zemin (and Luo Gan) to proceed, although the office of the chief prosecutor objected. The Judge’s legal opinion will be remembered for its breadth of knowledge and wisdom, courage and integrity. After taking testimony from Falun Gong believers from around the world and several experts, the Judge indicted Jiang Zemin for crimes of torture and persecution. In spite of setbacks and interference, this case is still active.
The Israeli Rabbinical Council similarly found Jiang’s regime liable for “the killing of innocent Falun Gong practitioners.” It made parallels between the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and the persecution of the Jews at the hands of the Nazis during World War II.
