Lawyer Carlos Iglesias (second from right) and democracy activist Wei Jingsheng (center) stand with Falun Gong victims of persecution Lu Shiping, Dai Ying, and Li Jianhui after testifying before a judge on May 2, 2009. (Victor Liu/The Epoch Times)

In a groundbreaking case, following a two-year investigation, a Spanish judge has accepted charges of genocide and torture in a case filed against five high-ranking CCP officials for their role in the persecution of Falun Gong.

This is the first time that a court has recognized the campaign against the group as legally fitting the definition of genocide. If the defendants were in Spain, the Court could call them before the Judge for a hearing.

“This historic decision by a Spanish judge means that Chinese Communist Party leaders responsible for brutal crimes are now one step closer to being brought to justice,” said Carlos Iglesias, a local lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

Between 2003 and 2007 fifteen victims of persecution filed criminal complaints against each of the five officials under a Spanish law that enables individuals or their lawyers to initiate private prosecutions (acciones populares). Four complaints were combined into one case, the facts of which a judge from Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) has been investigating since 2006; the fifth was added later.

On Nov. 11, Iglesias received a letter from the National Court saying the charges of genocide and torture had been accepted.

Among the accused is ex-leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin. Jiang is widely acknowledged as the initiator and primary driver behind the campaign launched in 1999 to “eradicate” Falun Gong.

“The perpetrators of the genocide and torture will be confronted with two trials,” Iglesias said. “One of justice in front of the courts, and another, judgment in front of history, for having committed the biggest of all atrocities: the persecution of millions of persons whose only intention is to improve their ethical, moral, and spiritual qualities, following universal values.”

Also facing charges of genocide and torture in the Spanish case is Luo Gan, former head of the 610 Office, an extrajudicial agency set up to lead and coordinate the campaign against Falun Gong. The other three accused are Bo Xilai, current Party Secretary for Chongqing and former Minister of Commerce; Jia Qinglin, the fourth-highest member of the Party hierarchy; and Wu Guanzheng, head of an internal Party disciplinary committee.

Next Steps

Each of the five accused officials will now receive a rogatory letter (letter of request) from Judge Ismael Moreno via diplomatic channels, according to Iglesias. The letter will include more than 20 questions relating to the individual’s involvement in the persecution against Falun Gong and will be written in both Spanish and Chinese. Failure to respond to the questions would bolster Judge Moreno’s case for issuing an international arrest warrant. Iglesias said the accused will likely have four to six weeks to reply.

Judge Moreno has spent two years investigating the case, following a Constitutional Court (Tribunal Constitucional) ruling from June 2006 that ordered Spanish courts to accept the case based on a law enabling them to exercise universal jurisdiction. This legal principle allows domestic courts to hear cases of genocide and crimes against humanity regardless of where they occur and what the nationality of the defendant.

Evidence considered by the judge during the investigation process included written testimonies from fifteen Falun Gong practitioners and oral testimonies from seven. The judge also relied on reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Human Rights Law Foundation, and the U.N. Commission of Human Rights to reach his decision, Iglesias said.

“The application of universal jurisdiction now brings this case to a decisive stage and shows that the Spanish justice system will defend victims of a genocide that is happening in the 21st century in China and that there will not be impunity for these crimes,” Iglesias said. “When one carries out the crime of genocide or torture, it is a crime against the international community as a whole and not only against Chinese citizens. Spain is emerging as a defender of human rights and universal justice.”

Iglesias said the plaintiffs may immediately ask for international criminal arrest warrants to be issued for the accused. “In Spain, you can’t have a trial without the defendants being present,” he said. If the accused do not travel to Spain, the justice system will work with other countries that have legal treaties with Spain to extradite them should they travel to those countries.

“We have to be vigilant when they travel,” Iglesias said. “Justice and the lawyers will not stop—they are knocking on the criminals’ doors.”

Additional reporting by Zulema Núñez in Spain.

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