(Minghui.org) A total of 659 Falun Gong practitioners from Kunming City, Yunnan Province filed criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin between May 27 and September 1, 2015. The complaints were mailed to the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The practitioners are charging the former Chinese dictator with initiating the brutal suppression of Falun Gong and holding him responsible for the tremendous suffering inflicted upon them by the campaign.

Many of these practitioners recounted how Falun Gong returned them to health and gave them a new outlook on life. Their dreams to live healthier and happier lives, however, were 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, and many were forced to pay huge fines.

The Kunming practitioners who filed criminal complaints included people from all walks of life, including college professors, physicians, farmers, and blue collar workers.

Below, we profile a few of these practitioners:

Mr. Shu Zhenhong (舒振鸿), 60, is a retired physician. He was given two years of forced labor, and viciously beaten while incarcerated. His family had financial problems and was forced to sell their home.

Ms. Wu Zhiying (吴治英), 49, was stripped of her clothes in front of male police officers at a detention center.

Ms. Gao Fengying (高凤英), 59, filed a criminal complaint on behalf of her four children, of which two were sentenced to three years in prison and the other two given three and a half year prison terms.

Ms. Ou Xueyun (欧雪昀), 44, was sentenced to a three year prison term. While in prison, she was monitored around the clock. She was forced to sit for long periods of time, causing her legs to become numb and her buttocks to fester. In addition she was deprived of sleep, and forbidden to groom herself or use the restroom.

Below are the names of other practitioners who filed criminal complaints:

Ms. Li Zhizhu (李治初), 80, retired professor at Yunnan Sports Vocational and Technical CollegeMr. Shi Wanchang (施万昌), 78Ms. Fang Meixian (方美仙)Ms. Zhu Yaming (朱亚明), 71, retired teacher at Yunnan Agriculture University.Ms. Yang Zhijian (杨志坚), retired blue collar workerMr. Wang Guirong (王贵荣), 77

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 in 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.