(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Chengmei died 14 years ago after she was tortured in a labor camp for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual practice persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

Her brother recently filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese dictator, who started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. He submitted the criminal complaints to China's Supreme People's Procuratorate and Supreme People's Court on September 20, 2015.

In the complaints, he detailed the injuries his sister sustained from torture in the labor camp. He demanded that the Chinese judicial system investigate the crimes committed by Jiang and bring him to justice.

Family Hostility

Ms. Zhang's family by marriage was hostile towards her from the onset of the persecution, as they believed the Chinese regime's propaganda. They reported her to police several times. She was arrested, detained, and eventually became destitute to avoid further persecution. Her husband divorced her and kept her child from her.

Remains Cremated in Haste

The police arrested Ms. Zhang on December 8, 2010 and tortured her for three weeks in a detention center before transferring her to the Wangcun Labor Camp.

Two months after she was taken to the labor camp, its staff informed Ms. Zhang's family that she had died of a heart attack on February 4, 2010.

Her family went to the labor camp to view her body. They were surrounded by dozens of armed police, and their cell phones and cameras were confiscated.

When viewing her remains, they noticed that she was emaciated. Her face was disfigured, the backs of her ears were purple and swollen, and several teeth were missing. Also, her thighs were bruised, and her lower legs were swollen.

The authorities cremated Ms. Zhang's remains against her family's wishes and demanded that they sign the death certificate, which claimed that she died of a heart attack.

Related reports:Ms. Zhang Chengmei Dies in Wancun Forced Labor Camp in Shandong Province

Circumstances Surrounding Ms. Zhang Chengmei's Death Due to Torture in Wangcun No. 2 Forced Labor Camp in Shandong Province

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.