(Clearwisdom.net, May 12, 2004) On May the 3rd 2004, a southern Spanish newspaper called 'La voz de Almera' interviewed a western Falun Gong practitioner and published the following report:

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The persecution of Falun Gong - The Spanish National Court investigates the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin for crimes of genocide and torture

Last October, Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese President, was sued by eighteen Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world for crimes of genocide and torture at the Spanish National Court. Falun Gong is an ancient meditation practice and was warmly welcomed by people in China. However, nearly 100 million practitioners are under brutal persecution carried out by the Chinese Government.

This persecution started in 1999, when the former Chinese leader realized that the number of people who practiced Falun Gong exceeded the communist party membership. He gave the order to outlaw Falun Gong and persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Since then, nearly 2000 people have been confirmed tortured to death, (1) while 100 thousand people have been sent to labor camps. And there are still many more people missing from their homes.

An ancient practice

Falun Gong is related to traditional Chinese culture. This cultivation practice was first made public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992. Thanks to Falun Gong's contribution to peace and civilization of the human race, Mr. Li Hongzhi has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.

Falun Gong is a practice of refining the body and mind through exercises and meditation. It teaches practitioners to follow the principles of 'Truth-Compassion-Forbearance' in order to gain a healthy body and have a high moral character. Falun Gong is a non-organizational group and does not receive any commercial sponsorship; all of its activities are free of charge. Since the persecution began in China, Falun Gong practitioners have held a series of activities to stop the persecution that have gained support from many human rights groups and organizations, including Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Workgroup.

Falun Gong practitioners stated that their human are rights are being violated by the large-scale persecution in China, including illegal arrest and torture, forced divorce, forced abortion and forced labor, etc.

(1) To date, 955 practitioners are verified to have been killed, but the actual number is believed to be much higher, even surpassing the 2,000 cited in this article.

Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200405/19559.html