Snapshot of Lawsuits Against Jiang Zemin Received by Minghui on August 5, 2015

(Minghui.org) Many Falun Gong practitioners are now exercising their legal right to sue Jiang Zemin for launching the persecution of Falun Gong and causing them great harm and tremendous suffering during the past 16 years. The momentum of this new wave of lawsuits against the former Chinese dictator is on the rise.

The Minghui website receives copies of criminal complaints against Jiang from many practitioners daily. In this report, we present a snapshot of five of the practitioners whose copies of lawsuits were received by Minghui on August 5, 2015.

Their lawsuits were mailed to the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, which are required to process all criminal complaints filed by citizens, as of a recent ruling by the Supreme People's Court.

Forced to Flee, Tortured in Custody

Practitioners are not just placed in prison to wait out their terms. They are tortured, starved, and force-fed. Some flee and can never return home. The following excerpts describe how police and prison officials hound practitioners to give up their belief in Falun Gong and make their life a living hell.

1: Ms. Ling Li (凌莉)

Profession: Formerly employed at Kunming General Logistics DepartmentHometown: Kunming City, Yunnan ProvinceDate filed: Recent, date not specified

Key Facts: Ms. Ling Li was arrested on July 13, 2005, and illegally detained for four months. Every day, five to six people watched her around the clock as she was ordered to write reports on her thoughts about Falun Gong. She was fired from her job of 18 years and lost her source of income.

Local authorities broke into her home, ransacked the place, and arrested Ms. Ling on April 21, 2009. She was charged with “using a cult organization to undermine law enforcement” and sentenced to five years in prison.

She appealed five times to the Yunnan City Court but received no response. Her husband divorced her. Her child, nine years old at the time, was traumatized by her imprisonment.

After her release from prison, she was arrested on April 10, 2015, while visiting relatives in her hometown in Hubei Province. She was detained for 10 days. Not long after, officials from the local 610 Office arrested and detained her in a brainwashing facility for 53 days.

Details of complaint in Chinese

2: Mr. Yu Huinan (俞惠男)

Profession: Officer of Suzhou City Science CommitteeHometown: Suzhou City, Jiangsu ProvinceDate filed: Recent, date not specified

Key Facts: Mr. Yu Huinan, his wife, and two daughters were arrested on November 26, 2000, for distributing information about the persecution of Falun Gong. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. His eldest daughter, Ms. Yu Jin, received seven years.

Mr. Yu refused to give up his belief in Falun Gong and was brutally tortured at Suzhou No 3 Prison. He was reduced to skin and bones. When he became critically ill in December 2005, prison authorities told his family to take him home. Mr. Yu passed away on January 4, 2006, at the Suzhou City No. 5 Hospital.

Belated News: Mr. Yu Huinan Passed Away in 2006 as a Result of TortureMr. Yu Huinan Dies from Torture at Suzhou Prison; Mr. Chen Guang in Coma for Six Months

Details of complaint in Chinese

3: Mr. Hu Jianguo (胡建国)

Profession: Taxi driverHometown: Chaoyang City, Liaoning ProvinceDate filed: June 1, 2015

Key Facts: Mr. Hu Jianguo started to practice Falun Gong when he was 30. Before that, he did not work and lived off his parents. His wife left him to take care of their only son.

After he became a practitioner, Mr. Hu took on more responsibility and found a stable job. When Falun Gong was outlawed in July 1999, he went to Beijing with several practitioners to petition the central government. He was arrested and illegally detained for one month.

He escaped from detention and had to leave home to avoid further persecution. He was arrested on October 25, 2001, while studying Falun Gong books with other practitioners. Police extorted 2000 yuan from his parents and confiscated 166,000 yuan in personal belongings. Police hung him in the air by handcuffs for three days and nights, and he was given no food or water.

Mr. Hu was sentenced to 14 years in prison in February 2003 for his belief in Falun Gong. He is still incarcerated in Jinzhou Prison. For the past 12 years, the authorities have tormented him to give up his belief.

His family has suffered, too. His dying father was not allowed to see him. When Mr. Hu was on the run, the police harassed his ex-wife and offered her 50,000 yuan for information on his whereabouts.

Mr. Hu's son was expelled from school. His relatives treated the boy badly because his father was in prison for practicing Falun Gong. The boy, now grown, is often bullied and faces discrimination when trying to find a regular job.

Related Reports:The Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners inside Jinzhou PrisonPersecution Facts from Nanshan Prison in Jinzhou City, Liaoning ProvinceMany Falun Dafa Practitioners Sentenced to Long Prison Terms in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province

Current Circumstances: Mr Hu is still serving his sentence at Jinzhou Prison.

Details of complaint in Chinese

4: Ms. Zou Xiuju (邹秀菊)

Profession: SalesHometown: Dalian City, Liaoning ProvinceDate filed: June 23, 2015

Key Facts: Ms. Zou Xiuju was arrested in April 2005 for handing out materials to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong. She was sentenced to two years of forced labor and brutally tortured in the notorious Masanjia Labor Camp in Liaoning Province.

She was shackled to an iron chair in a fixed position for 24 hours and not allowed to sleep for five days.

By order of the head guard, a female convict put unknown drugs in her food. Since then, Ms. Zou often breaks out in a cold sweat and continues to suffer memory loss.

Ms. Zou went on a hunger strike to protest her imprisonment but was force-fed. Guards tied her legs to the corners of the bed and pried her mouth open with a device used on animals. When the device stretched her mouth as much as possible, liquid food was poured in, nearly choking her to death.

She was force-fed on her back every day for eight hours at a time. Above her, a propaganda video demonizing Falun Gong played continuously.

Ms. Zou was again sentenced to two years of forced labor and tortured in Dalian in 2010. Guards hung her up in a cage. Convicts pulled her legs apart, causing excruciating pain. Her head was covered so she could not breathe.

Related Reports:Recent Persecution of Falun Gong Practitioners at Masanjia Women's Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning ProvinceCrimes Committed by Vicious Guard Ma Jishan at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp (photo)Practitioners Xie Dewen and Others Brutally Tortured at Masanjia Labor Camp

Details of complaint in Chinese

5: Mr. Zhang Hengyu (张恒玉) and Ms. Tan Fengling (谭凤玲)

Profession: Manager, Shenlong Carpet Group Co. Ltd. Ms. Tan was a homemaker.Hometown: Dezhou City, Shandong ProvinceDate filed: July 18, 2015

Key Facts: Mr. Zhang and his wife have been arrested and detained many times and their home raided because they told people about the persecution of Falun Gong.

To avoid further arrest, they left their home on August 29, 2001, and have been on the move ever since. Their two sons, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren were also forced to leave home. To track them down, the police and government officials posted the family's pictures in public places. They harassed their friends and arrested and tortured their relatives.

After years of being pursued by the authorities, the couple, their daughter-in-law, and grandchildren were arrested in the early hours of June 1, 2014. Mr. Zhang was taken to a brainwashing center in handcuffs, his head was covered with a black cloth. Ms. Tan was brutally tormented and developed symptoms of a heart attack and high blood pressure. She was treated at a hospital and released after 27 days of detention. She was forced to pay 5000 yuan in medical fees.

Current circumstances: Ms. Tan is currently free, but Mr. Zhang was sentenced to three years in prison on July 9, 2015. He is currently incarcerated at Jizhong Prison in Tangshan City, Hebei Province.

Related Report:Mr. Zhang Hengyu's Family Tracked Down and Arrested, Including His Young Grandchildren and Their Great Grandmother

Details of complaint in Chinese

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 during 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.