(Clearwisdom.net) The World Journal reports on May 28, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit opened a court hearing on May 27 on the appeal case of Falun Gong practitioners' lawsuit against chairman of China's Central Military Commission Jiang Zemin. The plaintiff's attorney stated that Jiang Zemin is no longer the President of China, and he should not enjoy the sovereign immunity.
It is reported that six Falun Gong practitioners filed a lawsuit in 2002 in the local court to accuse Jiang Zemin of using brutal methods to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, and thus charged him of torture, genocide and crimes against humanity. Last September, the federal court judge Matthew F. Kennelly rejected the charges with the excuse that Jiang Zemin is the chief of state, enjoying immunity of civil prosecution in the US. The plaintiff proposed an appeal to the federal court of appeals.
The report also stated that the plaintiff's attorney Dr. Terri Marsh expressed at the oral argument in court on May 27, Jiang is no longer the head of state, so he can be prosecuted. She said that the court's rejection of the lawsuit would send out such a message: heads of state who perpetrated genocide can enjoy immunity. Dr. Marsh also expressed that dropping the case would not protect any US president; bringing Jiang Zemin to justice is truly safeguarding the dignity of law.
The American government worried that the Chinese government may retaliate. It is reported that the lawyer representing the US Department of Justice expressed that they knew that Falun Gong practitioners suffer repression and persecution, but they worried that if Jiang was sued by the US court, the American President would possibly receive same retaliation in future.
