(Minghui.org) Thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners both inside and outside of China are suing former Chinese dictator, Jiang Zemin, for instigating a genocide of Falun Dafa, and for crimes against humanity.

“I am suing Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese communist Party for abusing the Chinese Constitution and initiating the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners. I was tortured when I was jailed in China. I request the Supreme People's Procuratorate and Supreme People's Court to investigate Jiang Zemin for his crimes. I request that he be made to compensate the physical, spiritual and economic losses of Falun Dafa practitioners,” said Ms. Yingqin Guan from Philadelphia.

She mailed her complaints to the Chinese Supreme People's Procuratorate and Supreme People's Court on June 13, 2015.

Ms. Yingqin Guan standing in front of The White House in Washington D.C., holding materials pertaining to the persecution of Falun Dafa

“Jiang Zemin initiated the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999. He set up the extralegal '610 Office' to drive his persecution policy against Falun Dafa practitioners. I was arrested and tortured when I attempted to appeal for Falun Dafa in China,” said Yingqin.

She was locked in a brainwashing center in Jilin City, Jilin Province from September 29 to October 13, 1999, followed by a 15-day detention in a police substation in Changyi District for appealing for Falun Dafa in Beijing. “Police officers extorted 2000 yuan ($322) from me. Police officer Jiao Zengchun hung me and another female Falun Dafa practitioner by cuffing our hands to a metal bar for nearly 10 hours.”

She went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa again at the end of November 1999. She was arrested, escorted back and jailed in Jilin Detention Center. She said, “More than 20 of us were locked in one small room that was cold and wet, as well as dirty and smelly, as the toilet was in the corner of the room. I was sent to Jilin Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp for one year of imprisonment after being incarcerated for 18 days.

“The camp guards abused and tortured me. Brigade head Xi Guirong and guard Jiang Hong cuffed my hands from behind and pushed me to a corner. Both of them shocked my head with electric batons. They shocked my head, face and neck. They punched me in the face, and my face swelled up. I couldn't stand properly and became incapacitated. While shocking me, Xi Guirong asked me, “Are you going to continue practicing Falun Dafa or not?”

“Another time I was forced to squat with a straight back for several hours with both hands behind my back. On another occasion, I was forced to keep both hands behind me while lowering my head to my feet, doing so for extended periods of time. The guards instigated criminal inmates to monitor me. They beat me if I could not endure the pain of remaining in these torturous positions.

“I was also stripped naked and tied to a bed in a freezing warehouse in the cold winter. The temperature was lower than -30°C (-22°F). My body involuntarily shook and I was unable to talk.”

Besides physical abuse, there was psychological torture. Ms. Guan said, “I was forced to sit on a hard bench to watch propaganda that defames and slanders Falun Dafa. I was deprived of sleep. The guards would prop open my eyes when I was too sleepy.”

She and other Falun Dafa practitioners were also made to do forced labor. She said, “We were forced to move boxes, weighing over 30 pounds each, up and down the building of several stories. We were forced to get up at 4 a.m. to start working until 10 p.m. without a break every day. The guards tortured us physically and mentally.”

She fled to the United States after overcoming many difficulties in 2007 and has lived in Philadelphia since 2013. She said, “I can finally practice Falun Dafa freely in the United States. The persecution in China is still going on. As a victim of this persecution, I am suing Jiang Zemin in order to uphold justice and human dignity.

“I hope the Chinese Supreme People's Procuratorate and Supreme People's Court safeguards the Constitution and restores justice. It's time to bring Jiang Zemin to justice.”

Ms. Guan started practicing Falun Dafa in April 1997. She said, “I had quite a few severe illnesses including heart disease, myocardial ischemia, eye pain and stomach uterine fibroids and sudden apnea. I felt I was near the end of my life.

“By chance, someone recommended Falun Dafa to me. A few months later, all my illnesses disappeared. My family and friends witnessed my amazing changes. Falun Dafa gave me a second life. I follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in daily life and educate my daughter and son according to these principles. Both of them are now grown up with good careers.”