(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners held a rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on August 2 to support the wave of lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Over 120,000 Falun Gong practitioners and their family members have filed criminal complaints against Jiang since the end of May. They urged the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court to bring Jiang to justice for abusing his power in orchestrating the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

The complaints charge Jiang with unlawful imprisonment, depriving citizens of their constitutional right to freedom of belief, abuse of power, and many other crimes. Jiang initiated the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, and created the 610 Office, giving it the power to override the police and judicial system to carry out his directive.

Over the past 16 years, the deaths of more than 3,800 Falun Gong practitioners due to torture have been confirmed. The actual toll is likely higher, because this information is tightly censored in China.

The criminal complaints come from 22 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions, and Hong Kong, China, and 25 other countries.

Falun Gong practitioners on the Mall in DC. The banner on the left says, “Support 120,000 People Filing Criminal Complaints Against Jiang Zemin. The Will of the People Cannot Be Ignored.” The right banner says “Supporting Lawsuits Against Jiang Zemin Is Patriotic.”

The banner says, “Bring Jiang to Justice for His Crimes Against Humanity.”

Tourists stop to read the posters, and practitioners explain the facts of the persecution.

Several practitioners, including some who were tortured in China, spoke at the rally. One of them, Mr. Huidong Zhang, a former business executive in China, was tortured to disability and forced to flee to the United States.

“I was arrested in Dalian, Liaoning, China, on the morning of August 7, 2001,” Mr. Zhang said. “The police wrapped a rope around my neck and tightened it until I passed out. Then they carried me to the Xiuyue Street Police Station and interrogated me until 4 a.m. the next day.

“I attempted to escape after the interrogation, but a police officer found me. I had to jump from a fifth floor bathroom window to get out of the building. As a result, I sustained several comminuted fractures.

“The police took me to the Dalian Municipal Friendship Hospital. After learning from a doctor that I would very likely be permanently disabled, they left me at the emergency room door and hurried away after informing my father.

“I had fractured my ankle, and bones in both my feet were shattered. My left heel bone and lumbar vertebrae were also shattered, and my brow and nose were broken. I was disabled and needed a wheelchair or crutches to get around.

“I kept practicing Falun Gong and recovered in four months. I can walk again.”

Another practitioner, Ms. Qiuying Wang, was arrested and jailed many times in China. She said, “I went to Tiananmen Square to appeal for Falun Gong in April 2000 and was arrested. I was detained first in Fengtai Detention Center and then transferred to Tuanhe Dispatch Center in June 2000.”

“One day I was forced to remove my clothes and squat down out in the sun from 10 a.m. until 11 p.m. the police shocked me with an electric baton if I moved and wouldn't give me any water.

“Because so many practitioners were arrested and detained, there were not enough cells. The Dispatch Center held us in storage rooms. We were often not allowed to use the restroom or take a shower. As a result, many of us got scabies.

“In those harsh and dirty conditions, we were forced to work, packaging chopsticks. Sometimes we had to work all night long to meet the quota.”

Tourist: Reporters All Over the World Should Cover This Story

The rally attracted many tourists. They paused to listen to the speeches or read the informational poster boards to learn about Falun Gong and the persecution.

Julie Schechter, a tourist from Florida, said, “I now know about the persecution and what is happening in China.

“It's horrible. We know about the genocide against the Jews. That should never happen again to anyone, in China or anywhere else,” she said.

She said that reporters all over the world should report on it to help those being persecuted.