(Minghui.org) Several dozen residents of Dezhou City, Shandong Province, have been placed under criminal detention at one point or another since late October of this year for suing former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin. They filed the criminal charges against him for initiating the persecution of their spiritual belief, Falun Gong.
Several who had been detained recently filed an application for “administrative reconsideration” to repeal their criminal detention, but the departments in charge refused to accept their paperwork. The practitioners protested the violation of their legal rights and later mailed in their application.
Criminal Detention and “Administrative Reconsideration”
According to Chinese law, criminal detention is an emergency custodial measure that can be extended up to 30 days. Approval and standards for criminal detention are much simpler than administrative detention (which is usually limited to 15 days). Though not intended for routine use, criminal detention has become the most commonly employed custodial measure, especially when it comes to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
The law says that those placed under criminal detention may pursue remedies through “administrative reconsideration.” However, when the Dezhou residents went to appeal their criminal detention, the authorities refused to accept their applications. Undeterred, the concerned Falun Gong practitioners mailed in their paperwork.
“Reconsideration” Declined
On December 24, several Falun Gong practitioners in the Decheng District of Dezhou City went to the municipal government to submit their application for administrative reconsideration.
The section chief refused to accept it, citing an internal policy that such cases must go through the district government. He wouldn't budge when the practitioners pointed out that the criminal detention regulations state clearly that they may appeal to the municipal government directly.
The practitioners next visited the Decheng District Government, only to be met with the same resistance. The receptionist was friendly at first, but he changed his attitude when he learned they were filing for reconsideration of their detention for suing Jiang.
He claimed, “We are under orders from our superiors that we cannot accept Falun Gong cases.” He couldn't produce a written document to that effect, however, and insisted it was an order passed down verbally. When the practitioners protested that he was violating their legal rights, he called in three security guards to drive them out.
The practitioners ended up mailing their applications to the district government.
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.
