(Minghui.org) A 58-year-old woman from Shuangyashan City finally decided that she'd had enough. She has filed a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese dictator who started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999.

After the persecution started, Ms. Sun Shujie was arrested 14 times and put in forced labor camps three times, all for practicing Falun Gong. While she was in the camps, she was rushed to an emergency room 10 times due to the relentless torture.

The persecution of Falun Gong has also put tremendous strain on her family. Frequent harassment by the authorities finally put Ms. Sun's husband in the hospital with a heart attack. He divorced her in 2003 while she was incarcerated. That trauma, plus the nerve-damaging drugs she was injected with, pushed her over the edge and she had a mental breakdown.

Ms. Sun's most recent arrest took place in June 2014. She was tried on January 21, 2015, and sentenced to five years.

At the time of the trial she was too weak to walk as a result of torture. She was secretly transferred to Harbin Women's Prison, where she is still being tortured, despite her poor health.

Related reports:Heilongjiang Court Tries Ms. Sun Shujie Despite Her Poor Health

Persecution Leads to Ms. Sun Shujie's Mental Collapse, But Officials Still Insist on Passing Sentence

Narrow Escape from Death, Ms. Sun Shujie Imprisoned Again

Ms. Sun Shujie Still Detained; Family Seeks Lawyer's Help

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 over 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.