ABC Online, Australia: Falun Gong Complaint Going Before UN

Tuesday, 6 April 2004

High profile Gold Coast lawyer Chris Nyst travels to Geneva, Switzerland today to formally lodge a complaint with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, alleging an Australian citizen was persecuted in China four years ago.

Mr Nyst and human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson have compiled the complaint, with the assistance of a number of law students from Griffith University's Gold Coast campus.

Mr Nyst believes it is the first complaint on behalf of an individual - a female Australian citizen - to the United Nations about the treatment of people practising [Falun Gong]¹.

"She travelled to China in 1999 and 2000. During that time she was detained during a period of up to 8 months during which time we say that she was tortured, she was arbitrarily detained, she was denied her rights of consular representation and she was subjected to quite harsh and inappropriate behaviour," Mr Nyst said.

1 We replaced "the Falun Gong religion" with "Falun Gong." Falun Gong is not a religion - there are no rituals or worship. Falun Gong is a cultivation practice based on the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." Practitioners study to improve character and practice five gentle and meditative exercises that purify the body.

http://www.abc.net.au/goldcoast/news/200404/s1082121.htm