A Former Police Officer’s Understanding of Lawsuits Against Perpetrators

(Minghui.org) Recently I read an article on Minghui about filing lawsuits against government agencies vs. individual perpetrators for persecuting Falun Gong. The author recommended Falun Gong practitioners not directly sue individual perpetrators since it might make it harder to save them later on. 

As a former police officer whose job was terminated because of his faith in Falun Gong, I would like to share some of my experiences and understandings on whether we should file lawsuits against individual perpetrators, including police officers. 

Following Legal Procedures

After the police department fired me, I started the appeal process without specifying any individual involved in my termination. But later my complaint evolved to include the police department’s crime of abuse of power, I had to name a specific offender as required by law. 

So I sued the director of my police department and made 10 copies of my complaints and sent them to 10 relevant central government agencies, as well as the Commission for Discipline Inspection at the province, city, and county levels. The county Commission for Discipline Inspection did not follow up on the case, but it did forward the lawsuit to five county directors (including four deputy directors) and three county Party Secretaries (including two deputy Party Secretaries). In addition, I sent copies of the lawsuits to 19 officials at the county and township levels. My main purpose was helping those officials know that the persecution, including job termination at will, had no legal basis. 

It is true that the police department director might not like my lawsuit against him. But it was still worthwhile since so many officers and government officials learned what had happened to me during this process. In fact, after I mailed materials to the police department asking to have my job reinstated, I called the human resources and they admitted that there was no legal basis to fire me. 

Another aspect was familiarizing ourselves with related laws. There was an article on Minghui about requesting reinstatement of suspended pension. The author recommended Falun Gong practitioners cite relevant laws and submitted necessary documentation while requesting to have their illegally suspended pension reinstated. I did the same. For example, I was initially told my job termination was based on a notice from the Ministry of Civil Affairs that declared Falun Gong as illegal. I thus included Article 90 of Constitution in my materials submitted:

“Ministers in charge of the ministries or commissions of the State Council are responsible for the work of their respective departments and they convene and preside over ministerial meetings or general and executive meetings of the commissions to discuss and decide on major issues in the work of their respective departments.

“The ministries and commissions issue orders, directives and regulations within the jurisdiction of their respective departments and in accordance with law and the administrative regulations, decisions and orders issued by the State Council.”

It was clear that Article 90 did not mention anything about terminating one’s job because of their faith in Falun Gong. Therefore, officials at my workplace who bluntly terminated me committed the crime of abuse of power. When I visited the police department, I ran into some former coworkers and they were surprised to hear about the illegal termination of me. Apparently, this helped them know the persecution was groundless and it was illegal to target practitioners for their faith. 

A Deterrent Effect

As mentioned in the beginning of my article, some practitioners preferred lawsuits being filed against agencies, not individual perpetrators; otherwise, those individual perpetrators may not listen to our truth-clarification anymore and it may be hard to save them. While I see the merit of such thinking, I also feel that it is not absolute and that suing key perpetrators can be an option under certain circumstances. 

For example, one police officer ransacked a practitioner’s home and confiscated personal belongings, including the computer of a family member. Even after finding no Falun Gong related information on the computer, the officer still refused to return it. The family requested to have the computer back many times, but the officer did not do anything. When other practitioners explained to him what Falun Gong is, he dismissed it too. In the end, the arrested practitioner sued the officer and copied the lawsuits to city discipline inspection agency, the procuratorial office, and the officer himself. I believe this would help those agencies, including the officer, to know it was wrong to suppress Falun Gong like this. 

Here is another similar example. When arresting a practitioner, a police officer ransacked the home – which was illegal – and took 10,000 yuan from the family along with other personal belongings. When the family asked for the confiscated items back, the officer did not admit to having taken them. In the end, the practitioner sued the officer. The lawsuit materials that contained these criminal details were also copied to various government agencies. Many people who received the materials got to know how this specific officer persecuted that practitioner for his belief in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. 

When individual officers’ names were specified in such complaints, I believe they probably would think twice before doing harm to practitioners again. So the overall result is good. 

Master said, 

“Exposing the wicked policemen and bad persons and publicizing their evil deeds is extremely effective at shocking and restraining those irrational, wicked people. At the same time, by clarifying the facts to the people on a local level it most directly exposes, and generates public awareness of, the wicked persecution. It is also a great way to save the people who have been poisoned and deceived by the lies. I hope all Dafa disciples and new students in mainland China will do this well.” (“Comment on a Student’s Article”, The Essentials of Diligent Progress III)

When more agents from the police department, protectorate, court, and government agencies knew about the lawsuits against specific perpetrators, they would know the persecution is wrong and they may stop participating in the suppression. They might be saved and the situation would improve. 

Editor's note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)