Spanish Court Indicts Chinese Leaders for Persecution of Falun Gong

The Federal court of Spain has indicted senior government officials of the Chinese government, among them the former chairman of the Communist Party – Jiang Zamin, for tortures and genocide of people who practice Falun Gong in China. If the officials indicted do not respond, it is expected that the court will rule on their extradition to Spain and possibly sentences of up to 20 years in jail.

The presiding judge, Judge Ismael Moreno, devoted two years to the investigation, in accordance with a ruling of the constitutional court in 2006 that ordered Spanish courts to accept the case on the basis of the legal principal of universal jurisdiction. This legal principal makes it possible for courts in any locale to undertake proceedings against people who have committed genocide and crimes against humanity in other locations in the world.

Evidence that was brought before the judge in the course of a two-year investigation included testimony written by 15 practioners of Falon Gong and direct verbal testimonies from 7 of them. In arriving at his decision, Judge Moreno also relied on reports from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Legal Fund and the UN Human Rights Committee.

Attorney Carlos Iglesias of the Human Rights Legal Fund (HRLF) said “The historic decision of the Spanish judge means that the leaders of Communist China who are responsible for the cruel crimes are now one step closer to being brought to justice. When a person commits genocide or torture, this is a crime against the entire international community and not only against Chinese citizens.” A Falon Gong newspaper notes that this is the first time that a court recognizes the persecution of FG believers in accordance with the legal definition of genocide.

Iglesias also said “the perpetrators of crimes of genocide and torture will actually stand before two courts. First they will stand before a court of law, and secondly, they will be judged by history for committing the most horrible crimes of all, persecution of millions of people whose only purpose was to improve their moral and spiritual beings in accordance with universal ethical principles.” He also expressed a hope other countries would also take action. "This decision of the Spanish judge, I sincerely think will open the door for other countries around the world to also start to investigate these crimes - and for justice to be served in the genocide that the Chinese Communist Party is committing against Falun Gong."

Sources:
Epoch Times - Israeli edition (November 26-December 2, 2009). An unprecendented court ruling against senior Chinese officials for crimes of genocide: Standing trial before history. Translated from Hebrew.

Friends of Falun Gong Newsletter. (November 2009) Taiwan: Spanish court indicts former chinese leaders, lawyer calls for the extradition of the five defendants. http://www.fofg-europe.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156&Itemid=36

International Federation for Justice in China (Retrieved May 20, 2010). Jiang Zemin indicted in Spain for genocide and torture of Falun Gong practitioners, http://www.ifjc.org/content/view/1929/30/lang,en/

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Tel Aviv University Falun Gong Exhibition Closes Down Under Pressure from the Chinese Government, but a Tel Aviv Court Overrules the Closure

A Tel Aviv District Court judge ruled that Tel Aviv University had "violated freedom of expression and succumbed to pressure from the Chinese Embassy" when it took down a student exhibition last year the focused on the oppression of the Falun Gong spiritual movement at the hands of the Communist Chinese government.

The exhibition featured 25 paintings by 17 artists from around the world. It depicted Falun Gong spiritual practices and the torture and executions its members have been subjected to in recent years.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the exhibition was originally approved by the head of the Asian Studies department at TAU, Prof.Yoav Ariel, along with the university's administration, which allotted nearly two weeks in March 2008 for the presenters to show the paintings inside the central on-campus library. But after just two days, organizers were told that the exhibition had to be removed. After initially protesting the move, they were given an additional three days to hold the exhibition, but were then told it had to come down. The two students who had organized the exhibition claimed that the decision to shut down the exhibition had been made after TAU was pressured by the Chinese Embassy in Tel Aviv and then went to court. "Removing the exhibition is a serious, unacceptable and unabashed infringement by university authorities on the plaintiff's freedom of expression and the students' and the public's right to know," they wrote.

The Jerusalem Post reported further that after more than a year of legal battles, Judge Amiram Benyamini ruled that TAU had "succumbed to pressure from the Chinese Embassy, which funds various activities at the university, and took down the exhibit, violating [the students] freedom of expression." Benyamini also stipulated as part of his ruling that the exhibition be given another week to be shown, and ordered TAU to pay some NIS 45,000 (about $11,500) for the students' court costs. TAU declined to comment on the matter and a spokesman at the Chinese Embassy refused to comment.

Haaretz also reported that the Student Union and Professor Ariel had the exhibit removed because of a request by the Chinese Embassy, and that he said he removed the exhibition because of fears that association with Falun Gong might negatively affect how Judaism is received in China, and also that Tel Aviv University has to take into consideration its ties with Chinese universities including student exchanges. Haaretz also reported that TAU spokeswoman Orly Frumer had responded that the exhibition was mounted with Student Union approval, and she did not know why it was taken down.

Falun Gong worldwide marks an annual Falun Dafa event on the 13th of May. This event marks the day that the movement became established in 1992 as well as the birthday of the teacher of the art, Li Hong Jei. The event is celebrated in more than 100 countries around the world by Falun Gong believers in the principles of "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance."

The Chinese government has outlawed Falun Gong, which became an overwhelmingly popular exercise movement in which hundreds of thousands participated in early mornings in China. There have been convincing reports of massive torture, torture to death, outright murder, and many imprisonments of Falun Gong adherents in China.

A Falun Gong newspaper also reports that the Chinese are known to have removed internal organs from prisoners for sale in the human organ market for transplants.

Sources:
Epoch Times, Israeli edition (May 18-26, 2010). Weekly issue #164. (Translated from Hebrew)

Edelman, Ofra (March 11, 2008). TAU exhibit on Falun Gong meditation shuttered over Chinese pressure, students charge. Haaretz.com. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/tau-exhibit-on-falun-gong-meditation-shuttered-over-chinese-pressure-students-charge-1.241033

JPost.com (Jan 10, 2009). Court backs students in TAU row over Falun Gong exhibit the university removed. http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=156344

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