(Minghui.org) A total of 2,677 Falun Gong practitioners from Beijing have filed criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin since May 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 his campaign. The criminal 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.

Below, we profile a few of these practitioners:

Mr. Jin Dapeng (景大鹏) was arrested together with his wife in April 2004. The couple were soon were subjected to forced labor; Mr. Jin was held three years and his wife one year in forced labor camps.

Mr. Jin was returning home on August 12, 2008 when he was ambushed by police officers waiting outside his apartment building. The police cuffed his hands behind his back for more than three hours. Later that day, he was sent to a brainwashing center, where he was subjected to electric shocks and other forms of torture. Even today, there are visible marks on his wrists from injuries sustained there.

Mr. Pang You (庞有), 52, was sentenced to eight years in prison in November 2001. He was subjected to electric shocks, cuffed and shackled for extended periods of time, forced to sit on a “small stool” for long periods, forced-fed, made to wear a tight metal vest, and subjected to the “tiger bench” torture.

Ms. Xi Zhaowen (席照文), in her 40s, was arrested in December 2007 when she sought the release of her husband, who was arrested earlier for practicing Falun Gong. She went on a hunger strike to protest, but was sent to a hospital for force-feeding. She was restrained to a bed for two weeks, during which time she had to relieve herself on the bed. Later, Ms. Xi was given two years of forced labor.

Ms. Jin Shuying (靳淑英), a farmer, was arrested along with her husband on September 23, 2005. More than twenty officers broke into the couple's home around midnight and took them away. Their teenage son was traumatized by the sudden arrest of his parents.

Both Ms. Jin and her husband were later given two years of forced labor, during which time their son relied on relatives and did odd jobs to support himself. Ms. Jin's parents worried so much about her that their health deteriorated quickly, with her father passing away in 2011 and her mother 2013.

Mr. Yang Shaocheng (杨少成) was arrested on June 8, 2001 while visiting a friend. In detention, he was cuffed and shackled to a metal chair. Officers then punched him in the chest. When they became exhausted, they poured water on his entire body and shocked him with high-voltage electric batons.

In addition to above practitioners, the following have also filed criminal complaints:

Ms. Jiang Xiuzhen (蒋秀珍), 75Mr. Li Lanping (李兰萍)Ms. Ma Xiufen (马秀芬), 62, retired government employeeMs. Li Xiuying (李秀英), 69Ms. Ma Qiaoying (刘栓计), farmer

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