Times Union (Albany, NY): Banned group still fighting [persecution]
By: Religion News Service

July 26, 2003 Saturday

About 1,500 supporters and practitioners of Falun Gong gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday in their fourth annual Washington demonstration marking the anniversary of the July 1999 [persecution].

The group, which practices a combination of meditation and gentle physical movements, says 750 of its members have died in custody while others have been routinely detained and tortured by the Chinese government.

[...]

Protesters at the Capitol conducted a mock trial of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, concluding several days of activity that began with the arrival of about 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners from around the world.

"I feel pained when I read the news about my fellow practitioners in China," Peter Houben, who traveled from Europe to participate in the demonstration, told The Boston Globe. "I can practice in Holland and everywhere in the world -- but not in China."

Lawyers in the United States have filed lawsuits against Jiang on behalf of Falun Gong followers using available U.S. laws, including the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act. [...].

Marchers also demanded the release of Charles Li, an American citizen from Menlo Park, Calif., who was sentenced to three years in prison by the Chinese government for his reported plans to broadcast informational videos about Falun Gong. Protesters held that Li, who was arrested Jan. 24 in the southern city of Guangzou, is innocent of charges of sabotaging the state-run television system.