(Minghui.org) A total of 939 Falun Gong practitioners from Nong'an County, Jilin Province have filed criminal complaints against Jiang Zemin between May and August 10, 2015, according to reports compiled by the Minghui website.

The practitioners charge the former Chinese dictator with initiating the brutal suppression of Falun Gong and hold him responsible for the tremendous suffering inflicted upon them by his campaign of persecution. The criminal complaints were mailed to the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.

In their criminal complaints, many of these practitioners recounted how Falun Gong returned them to health and gave them a new outlook on life. Their dream to live a healthier and happier life, however, was shattered when Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate the practice in 1999.

Simply for refusing to give up their belief, these law-abiding Chinese citizens were arrested, detained, tortured, and had their homes ransacked and personal belongings seized by the communist authorities. Many also saw their families implicated for their belief, while some were also forced to pay huge fines.

Recap of Selected Practitioner Complaints

Mr. Gao Zhengang (高振刚)

Mr. Gao, 44, was illegally detained, taken to a forced labor camp, and sentenced to nine years in prison.

His wife was detained twice and eventually passed away because of the persecution.

Mr. Gao was taken to the Changchun Police Station on February 1, 2002, where he was stripped and tortured on the tiger bench for over six hours. The persecutors poured water over his head, shocked him with electric batons, hit him with metal clubs and punched and kicked him, causing unbearable pain and agony. Such torture went on for three days.

When he was transferred to the Tiebei Detention Center, his arms and legs were swollen and dark purple, and he could barely walk. Despite his poor physical condition, Mr. Gao was handcuffed and his feet shackled in an awkward position for two days, causing excruciating pain.

Torture tools: Handcuffs and shackles

Mr. Gao was taken to Jilin Prison on November 20, 2003 where he was imprisoned for nine years. He was tortured in prison.

Ms. Sun Shiying (孙士英)

Ms. Sun Shiying, 55 years old, is a former school teacher from Yangshulin Township. Her family was destroyed as a result of the persecution.

Mr. Wang Qibo, Ms. Sun's husband, was fired from his job, repeatedly detained, given a forced labor sentence and sentenced to seven years in prison, where he was tortured. He passed away at the age of 47, from injuries sustained during torture.

Ms. Sun was also repeatedly detained, subjected to brutal brainwashing tactics and had to perform unpaid labor. She was fired from her job in 2001.

“In March 2003, police broke into my home and ransacked it. They hit my buttocks and legs with rubber tubes until they were covered with bruises,” Ms. Sun wrote in her complaint.

She was arrested again in November 2003 and held in the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp for a year. In the camp, Ms. Sun had to perform about 15 hours of labor daily.

“They deprived me of sleep at night, so that I would give up my belief. The division leader kicked me while wearing leather shoes and shocked me with electric batons for an entire afternoon. Despite this I had to still do unpaid work.”

Ms. Li Xiuhua (李秀华)

Ms. Li Xiuhua, 54, is from Fulongquan Township. She was taken to a brainwashing center three times, detained five times and was given one year of forced labor.

Her husband was given a two-year forced labor term. In addition, the police extorted about 20,000 yuan from their family.

While she and her husband were detained, their young children, 9 and 11, were left at home by themselves. The school pressured these children to slander Falun Gong, mistreated them, causing enormous mental pressure and trauma. They stopped going to school.

When police ransacked this family's home, they slapped the children until their faces were swollen.

Ms. Sun's mother and her parents-in-law passed away because of the pressure and stress of the persecution.

Ms. Guo Xiufen (郭秀芬）

Guo Xiufen, 82, was illegally arrested six times and was tortured since the beginning of the persecution. Police officers confiscated money, Ms. Guo's pension and personal belongings valued at over 100,000 yuan.

“In March 2003, I was arrested, and detained at the local police station for three days. They tied my hands behind my back and my legs to a tiger bench, a torture instrument, for an entire day and night,” Ms. Guo wrote in her complaint.

“When I refused to cooperate with the interrogation, police tried to suffocate me with my coat until I passed out. They then poured cold water over my head and I was soaked from head to toe.”

Police climbed over a wall and broke into Ms. Guo's home in July 2014. She was taken to the police station, where she was interrogated for an entire day, after which she was transferred to the Shuangyang No. 3 Detention Center. However, the center refused to accept her because of her poor health.

Mr. Li Min (李民）

Mr. Li Min, 54, was detained twice, given two years of forced labor, repeatedly harassed, extorted for money and tortured.

He was arrested by police in October 2000 for handing out Falun Gong informational materials. He was beaten with leather belts, punched and kicked. Then, he was transferred to the Chaoyanggou Forced Labor Camp.

“I was tortured almost weekly. On an extremely cold winter day, I was stripped naked and forced to sit on the bed with the windows wide open,” Mr. Li said.

“When I tried to stop a meeting meant to slander Falun Gong, I was brutally beaten and shocked with electric batons. Two of my ribs were broken and blood ran down my face. I was only allowed two hours of sleep every night for nine days in a row,” Mr. Li wrote in his complaint.

Torture re-enactment: Electric shock

“The torture of practitioners worsened in the Spring of 2002 in the labor camp, and the place was like a slaughter house. Tools they used to torture me included whips made of metal wires, metal clubs, canes and bamboo splints. Then the persecutors poured cold water over me before they shocked me with electric batons. The pain was beyond description,” wrote Mr. Lin.

Ms. Meng Jie (孟杰）

Ms. Meng Jie is a former high school teacher from Kai'an County. She was detained and then fired by her school for practicing Falun Gong.

Police climbed over the wall into her courtyard at midnight on September 24, 2007, forced open the windows and broke into her home. They ransacked her home and took her to the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp, leaving behind her 14-year-old son. An uncle took him in, but the young boy was traumatized by the police harassment and violence.

Ms. Meng was forced to leave home after her release to avoid further persecution. She is still homeless.

Additional Cases

Mr. Tong Renhua (佟仁华), 68 years old, was detained four times and given forced labor terms twice. Officers extorted close to 10,000 yuan.

Ms. Lü Xiaowei (吕晓薇), 36 years old, was illegally detained 10 times, was tortured and officials extorted money from her. Her home was repeatedly ransacked by police.

Ms. Han Shuqin (韩淑芹), 64 years old, was detained twice and taken to forced labor camps. Police repeatedly harassed her family.

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 thousands of 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 now allows for citizens to be plaintiffs in criminal cases, and many practitioners are exercising that right to file criminal complaints against the former dictator.