(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom.net Correspondent Yun Fa reports: On December 3, 2004, the Dutch Falun Dafa Association held a press conference regarding the legal action against Jiang Zemin, Bo Xilai and Li Lanqing for crimes of genocide. The practitioner's attorney, Ms. Liesbeth Zegveld pointed out that national boundaries should not restrict the ability to ascertain responsibility for those who have committed genocide. This matter has affected the entire world, and if all countries take the same actions, the criminals will have nowhere to hide.
On December 2, 2004, the Dutch Falun Gong Association filed a legal complaint against Jiang Zemin, Li Lanqing and Bo Xilai, charging them with committing the crimes of genocide and torture in the suppression of Falun Gong. The Public Prosecutor personally received the complaint at the National Court in Rotterdam and expressed that she would study it and decide what action, if any, to take against the defendants.
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Renowned Dutch human rights attorney Ms. Liesbeth Zegveld stated at a press conference held in The Hague, "This case is based on the International Convention Against Genocide and Convention Against Torture that the Netherlands joined on June 20, 1966 and ratified in December 1988 as well as the International Criminal Law of the Netherlands. I believe that the Dutch Court will accept this case, because the Netherlands has judicial jurisdiction and Dutch law stipulates that criminal responsibility can be ascertained for anyone in the world who has committed the crimes of genocide and torture. Secondly, two of the victims in this case are Dutch citizens, and this is a matter that relates to the Netherlands. This is also an important justification for launching the case in the Netherlands."
Attorney Liesbeth Zegveld stressed that ascertaining criminal responsibility for those who have committed genocide should not be restricted by national boundaries. This matter involves the entire world and it is not just an internal affair of some individual country. In particular, the International Court of Justice and the Special Court of Justice are situated in the Netherlands, and other countries need to be involved in handling these serious crimes.
Attorney Zegveld said that if this case is successful, a warrant can be issued for the arrest of these criminals, and once they step onto the Netherlands' territory, we can immediately have them arrested and bring them to justice. If all countries would do this, the criminals would have nowhere to hide.
At the press conference, Falun Gong practitioners recounted their personal experiences of the persecution by the Jiang faction. Dutch citizen Egon Knapen talked about his experiences of being beaten and tortured by the Chinese police after peacefully appealing for Falun Gong on Beijing's Tiananmen Square in February 2002. The police found in his bag a banner imprinted with the words, "Falun Dafa is great" and two copies of Zhuan Falun (main text of Falun Gong). They then forcibly put him in a police vehicle and took him to a detention facility near the airport and interrogated him.
Another Dutch citizen, Mr. Jan Hendriks, was also mistreated when he went to Beijing's Tiananmen Square in February 2002 to appeal for Falun Gong. When he practiced the fifth set of Falun Gong exercise, the sitting meditation, he was forcefully dragged by the police officers into a police vehicle. In the vehicle, the police beat him and threatened him.
Dutch citizen Wang Xianghe talked about the persecution of five of her family members, including her 85-year-old mother and 13-year-old niece. They were abducted, detained and sentenced to labor camps or jails on several occasions. Their homes were searched and their property was confiscated. They were subjected to brainwashing and different types of physical tortures. The torture methods used by Chinese authorities to force them to give up their beliefs included hanging them outside naked on a winter night and brutal beatings. Her 85-year-old mother has been detained several times. At one time, the elderly lady was unlawfully detained for three months. During the detention, she was subjected to forced brainwashing and deprived of sleep. She was tortured to the point that she was unable to even stand up. Ms. Wang Xianghe's 13-year-old niece, her two elder brothers and a sister-in-law were either sentenced to labor camp or to prison.
Then, Irish resident Zhao Ming spoke to the conference about his suffering while he was jailed in a Chinese forced labor camp, including being brutally beaten and shocked with several electric batons simultaneously.
The press statement released by the Dutch Falun Dafa Association stated, "For more than five years, a policy of systematic terror has been waged against Falun Gong practitioners. Money or other means are used to execute this policy and to achieve Jiang's goal, the total elimination of Falun Gong. Jiang Zemin is the initiator and the director of the persecution. He changed the law to justify his actions, but in doing so he violated the Chinese Constitution and universal human rights. He established the 610 Office, a Gestapo-like agency, implemented at all levels of the government for the sole purpose of eradicating Falun Gong physically, mentally, financially, socially and by reputation."
The statement says, "Torture and brainwashing are, even today, applied on a large scale. Examples include force feeding, electric shocks, beating with weapons, long-term confinement in small cells, rape and injection with nerve-damaging drugs. All these inhumane activities have the aim of destroying the faith of Falun Gong practitioners, and as such form a direct attack on Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, the guiding principles of Falun Gong. Communist tactics have been used to turn the whole population against Falun Gong, trying to enforce this policy further. The state-run media is continuously used to brainwash the people and make them believe Falun Gong is bad. Through rewards, fines and penalties, policemen and regular citizens are encouraged to "transform" Falun Gong practitioners. This complete systematic and carefully thought-out approach to eradicate a movement has a legal term: Genocide."
The Hague is famous for being the home of the International Court and the International Criminal Court. The International Court was mainly set up for war offenders but the International Criminal Court can apply to those who seriously violate human rights or commit genocide.
Does this lawsuit in the Netherlands have any special meaning? With this question, the journalist interviewed Dutch Falun Dafa Association spokesperson Silvio Verbeek. He answered, "The Dutch are famous in history for evaluating the law. That is why many international legal organizations are situated in The Netherlands, like the International Court and the International Criminal Court. This lawsuit in the Netherlands indicates that the sentencing of Jiang Zemin at the International Criminal Court will take place very soon."
Reference: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200412/23533.html
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