(Minghui.org) A total of 763 Falun Gong practitioners from Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, filed criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin between late May and October 27, 2015, according to reports compiled by the Minghui website.

The practitioners charge the former Chinese dictator with initiating the brutal suppression of Falun Gong, and hold him responsible for the tremendous suffering inflicted upon them by the campaign. The complaints were mailed to the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Many of these practitioners recounted how Falun Gong returned them to health and gave them a new outlook on life. Their dream to live a healthier and happier life, however, was shattered when Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate the practice in 1999.

Simply for refusing to give up their belief, they were arrested, detained, tortured, and had their homes ransacked and personal belongings seized. Many also saw their families implicated for their belief, while some were also forced to pay huge fines.

The Meizhou practitioners who filed criminal complaints include people from all walks of life, including private business owners and government employees.

Below, we profile four of them.

Wife Sues Jiang for Husband's Death and Her Own Imprisonment

Ms. Lin Xingru (林星茹), 73, a small business owner, endured four arrests, three years in prison, and the loss of her husband. She filed the complaint for both herself and her husband, Mr. Lai Jiamiao (赖佳淼), who died in prison six years ago.

Ms. Lin was arrested twice in 2000 and her husband once. The couple were forced to leave home and go into hiding in 2005 to avoid being arrested again. But the police found them and arrested her husband in late 2005, and her in 2006. The couple was arrested again in November 2007, and sentenced to three years in prison in 2008.

Ms. Lin was taken to Guangdong Province Women's Prison, where she was tortured day and night, resulting in severe physical and mental injury.

Her husband Mr. Lai died in prison in 2009. The authorities managed to make their son drop their original request for an autopsy, and cremated Mr. Lai’s body in two days. Ms. Lin was not allowed to attend his funeral.

Government Employee Imprisoned A Total of 15 Years

Mr. Xie Hanzhu (谢汉柱), a former government employee, was fired from his job and imprisoned for nearly 15 years for his belief in Falun Gong. He was arrested in 1999 and put in a forced labor camp for two and a half years. He was arrested again in 2005 and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Mr. Xie was severely tortured in Meizhou Prison. In his lawsuit he wrote that the prison guards didn't allow him to wash his face, brush his teeth, or take a shower in the summer of 2008. They forced him to sit still on a stool and beat him if he moved, didn't allow him to sleep until 4:00 a.m., and only allowed him to use the toilet every eight hours. They threatened to force him to drink his urine if he couldn't hold it.

Business Owner Tortured During Police Interrogation

Mr. Zhong Xiling (钟昔岭), a business owner, was arrested several times and imprisoned for a total of seven years.

He recalled one interrogation episode in his complaint, “I was told to go to the police station for an interrogation on March 7, 2005. As soon as I was led out of the detention center, 7-8 officers swarmed me, and covered my head with a black plastic bag. I was then dragged into a car. Starting at 6:00 p.m., one police officer handcuffed my hands behind my back in a chair. Another officer hit my head and shoulders, and kicked me. I was tortured until midnight. They then dragged me into another room for a different torture. I was pushed back and forth like a ball, shocked with an electric mosquito swatter, and my head was knocked against the wall.”

Elderly Man Fell Prey to Deceit, Taken into Brainwashing Center

Mr. Luo Daocang (罗道昌), 83, recounted how he was taken into a local brainwashing center one day in May 2005.

He wrote in his complaint, “It was around 5 o'clock in the morning. I heard a knock on the door and saw a group of officers outside. They said they needed to verify something with me at the town government office, and that they would bring me back after everything was done.

I trusted them and got in the car. They, however, drove me to a brainwashing center instead and detained me there for two months. There I was forced to listen to information slanderous toward Falun Gong. My employer, Meizhou Power Supply Bureau, withheld my living subsidy of 1,500 yuan. I have lived in constant fear for 16 years.”

Related reports:60-Year-Old Mr. Lai Jiamiao Dies in Custody in the Shaoguan City PrisonMeizhou Prison Guards in Guangdong Province Use Torture to Force a False Confession from Practitioner Mr. Xie Hanzhu

Background

In 1999, Jiang Zemin, as head of the Chinese Communist Party, overrode other Politburo standing committee members and launched the violent suppression of Falun Gong.

The persecution has led to the deaths of many Falun Gong practitioners over the past 16 years. More have been tortured for their belief and even killed for their organs. Jiang Zemin is directly responsible for the inception and continuation of the brutal persecution.

Under his personal direction, the Chinese Communist Party established an extralegal security organ, the “610 Office,” on June 10, 1999. The organization overrides police forces and the judicial system in carrying out Jiang's directive regarding Falun Gong: to ruin their reputations, cut off their financial resources, and destroy them physically.

Chinese law allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are now exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.