According to a report by VOA on November 21, a Spanish National Court judge ordered to indict five Chinese Communist officials, including former party head Jiang Zemin, for genocide and torture of Falun Gong practitioners. Chinese Communist officials Luo Gan, Bo Xilai, Jia Qinglin and Wu Guanzheng also face these charges. A China Human Rights attorney said that this Spanish Court action has very important symbolic meaning.
The report said that the National Court will soon issue a rogatory letter (letter of request) to the accused, who will have about 6 weeks to reply. If the reply is not received on time, the court can issue an international arrest warrant. If found guilty, they will face at least 20 years in prison.
Dr. Sen Yang, chairperson of the Mid-US Falun Dafa Association, said that this victory in Madrid is the result of a long battle. “This case has lasted 2 years; the accused are top ranking current and former Chinese Communist officials and they are directly responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong. Fifteen Falun Gong practitioners jointly filed this lawsuit, and they are from several countries."
According to the report, the court accepted the practitioners’ lawsuit based on universal jurisdiction. Based on this principle, since 2005, Spain has accepted many genocide and human rights violation lawsuits from around the world.
Whether or not the court ruling will be carried out in China is yet to be seen. If the accused, including Jiang Zemin, ignore the rogatory letter, they might be extradited to Spain when they travel to other countries that have legal treaties with Spain.
Beijing human rights lawyer Tang Jitian said: “This court decision has symbolic meaning. It is to remind mainland China: No matter whether they are the persons who directed the persecution or the persons who carried out the orders, they will eventually face justice, even though they might not be held accountable for now. They must see this fact clearly.”
