Spain: Significant Progress Seen in Lawsuit Against CCP High Level Official (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) On the morning of July 30, 2007, Judge Ismael Moreno and procurator Juan del Moral met with three witnesses in Madrid, Spain. The witnesses, Zhao Ming from Ireland, Dai Zhizhen from Australia, and Chen Ying from France, provided the judge and procurator with evidence about Falun Gong's lawsuit against Chinese Communist Party official Jia Qinglin, which was filed in 2004 when Jia visited Spain. Falun Gong practitioners sued Jia for torture and crimes against humanity.

Carlos Iglesias (third from left), attorney representing Falun Gong, and witnesses in front of the State Court.

El Pais, Spain's largest newspaper, interviews Falun Gong practitioners

According to Carlos Iglesias, the attorney representing Falun Gong, before this meeting, the court had already taken a series of steps to collect evidence about the Jia lawsuit:

1. Confirmed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague that it had not yet processed Jia's case.

2. Acquired a human rights report from the UN Human Rights Commission.

3. Acquired human rights reports relating to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong from Amnesty International.

4. Acquired human rights reports relating to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong from the Human Rights Watch.

5. Acquired information relating to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

6. Requested the Chinese Embassy in Spain provide information about the accused.

Attorney Iglesias said that this was the first incident in Spanish judicial history in which the judge met with witnesses of an international criminal case involving non-Spanish victims. In international judicial history, this was the second incident. The first time was when an Argentine court processed Falun Gong's lawsuit against Luo Gan, Secretary of the CCP's Political and Judiciary Committee and Head of the 610 Office, for genocide and torture.

Zhao Ming, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Jia Qinglin, was unlawfully imprisoned in a forced labor camp in China from May 2000 to March 2002. Mr. Zhao was deprived of sleep for a long period of time. Guards in the camp ordered prisoners to beat Mr. Zhao and shock him with many electric batons simultaneously. Concerned Irish supporters, human rights organizations, and Irish government officials worked to rescue Zhao Ming and bring him back to Ireland. Zhao Ming said, "It went well today when I met with the judge and provided him with evidence. I feel the court is indeed investigating this case. The judge was very concerned about the large scale live organ removal from Falun Gong practitioners in China."

Dai Zhizhen was another plaintiff. Her husband, Chen Chengyong, died in 2001 as a result of the CCP's persecution. Her sister-in-law was illegally arrested and imprisoned for two years when she went to claim Mr. Chen's body. Ms. Dai's father-in law died two months after learning about his son's death and his daughter's imprisonment. Ms. Dai said, "I have fulfilled my greatest wish. I have represented tens of thousands of shattered families and children like my daughter who have lost their parents in the persecution in front of the judge. I hope the persecution will end soon and that the families will be reunited."

Chen Ying, the third plaintiff, was imprisoned in a forced labor camp in China for a year. She was beaten and deprived of sleep. She was forced to work 16 hours a day to make labor intensive products for export. Ms. Chen said, "After I was arrested, I refused to give out my name and address. The police took me to a hospital in handcuffs and shackles to have my heart, eyes, and blood examined and to have a full-body scan. The police told me those who refused to provide their names would be sent to a concentration camp that was set up especially for Falun Gong practitioners. The officer said we could practice Falun Gong there as much as we wanted and would never get out. I didn't know why they did a health check on me at that time. After the live organ harvesting atrocities were exposed, I realized they sent practitioners who refused to disclose their names to concentration camps to become organ donors."

After the three witnesses met with the judge, they and Attorney Iglesias were interviewed by the EFE and Uropa Press (two of the largest news agencies in Spain), El Pais (the largest newspaper in Spain), and 20 Minutos (the largest free newspaper in Spain).