(Clearwisdom.net) According to the Central News Agency's report on March 8, in response to the news that Jiang Zemin formally resigned as Military Chief, Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners said that although Jiang no longer has a government post, they will continue to prosecute him for his criminal liability in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

Spokesperson of the Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association, Mr. Kan Hung-cheung pointed out when giving an interview with a Central News Agency reporter, "Although Jiang has completely stepped down from his posts, the crimes he committed in wantonly suppressing Falun Gong during his tenure of office will not be ignored because of his resignation. Falun Gong practitioners throughout the world will continue to prosecute him for his criminal liability in persecuting practitioners."

He said, "At present, Falun Gong associations from more than ten countries and areas have filed or prepared to file lawsuits against Jiang in their local courts. Among them, Falun Gong practitioners from Chicago and Australia have already launched legal actions." He said that according to the laws, once the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang is affirmed by the courts, they can summon Jiang to appear in court. Even if he is not willing to appear in court, his crimes will be exposed to the entire world.

Mr. Kan pointed out that since July 20, 1999, when Jiang began the overall suppression against Falun Gong, about 1,600 practitioners have died in police custody, according to inside estimates from the Chinese authorities at the end of October 2001. In addition, at least 6,000 practitioners have been sentenced to prisons, and more than 100,000 practitioners are imprisoned in forced labor camps.

According to the BBC's report on March 7, ex-naval officer from Argentina Adolfo Scilingo, who is accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, murder and terrorism, has appeared in court in Spain. Spanish prosecutors have requested a prison sentence of 9,138 years for Scilingo.

This is the first case tried in Spain on human rights violations that took place outside the country. Spain's national court in 1998 gave its judges the right to try anyone accused of crimes against humanity, even if the alleged crime took place outside of Spain.