For the past four years, Luo Gan directed the “6-10 Office” in China, described by the United States Congress as an agency charged with “overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong members through organised brainwashing, torture, and murder.”

No Immunity Under Vienna Convention

According to Morton Sklar, the Executive Director of World Organization Against Torture USA and an expert on immunity, Luo Gan has no immunity under the Vienna Convention during his visit this week to Iceland:

“First, he [Luo Gan] does not fit within the very clear categories of protected officials set out in the Vienna Convention,” says Mr. Sklar. “He is not head of state or foreign minister, and is not in Iceland on a special mission fulfilling ambassadorial duties or even major governmental functions. As I understand it he is conducting a review of the Icelandic legal system. This is not the type of special mission that the Vienna Convention had in mind covering under immunity protections given only to the highest level officials visiting pursuant to special diplomatically linked missions.”

Mr. Sklar continued, “To interpret the Convention otherwise would mean that virtually all foreign officials were subject to absolute immunity in a foreign country, which is nowhere near the way the immunity provisions are interpreted and applied.”

No Immunity for Crimes of Genocide, Torture

Mr. Sklar also pointed out that no one – irrespective of his/her post or status – can claim criminal immunity for actions that constitute Genocide. “There is a plain exception to even the strongest immunity protections,” says Mr. Sklar, “through treaty provisions in the Genocide Convention, and through similar provisions that have been included in all of the major criminal prosecution statutes of the international courts, including the International Criminal Court, the Yugoslavia and Rwanda Tribunals, and the Sierra Leone Special Court.”

Mr. Ragnar Adalsteinsson, a renowned Icelandic human rights lawyer representing the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against Luo Gan in Iceland, commented: “Even if Luo had been on official visit to Iceland, he doesn't enjoy diplomatic status to merit protection from Vienna Convention. Further, even if Luo did have diplomatic status, his crimes of genocide and torture would exempt him from any immunity internationally.”

“[F]or purposes of civil liability, the torturer has become like the pirate and slave trader before him hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind.” -- Irving R. Kaufman, United States District Judge Filartiga v. Pena-Irala (2nd Cir. 1980)

Mr. Adalsteinsson continued, “Iceland has not signed the Convention on Special Missions from 1969. Therefore, the prosecutor cannot base his decisions on the stipulations of [that] convention. It is far fetched to use an international convention to which Iceland is not a signatory to overrule one Iceland is a signatory to (the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which Iceland signed in November 1996.)”

U.S. Human Rights Attorney Terri Marsh – who is the lead attorney in a class-action U.S. lawsuit against former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, and the “6-10 Office” – added, “Lou Gan, as the perpetrator of both genocide and torture against innocent practitioners of Falun Gong in China cannot commit crimes of such terrible magnitude with impunity. He has violated the most sacred principles of all civilized nations, he has violated Chinese law, as well as international treaties and covenants. There are no moral or legal bases for an immunity claim in this or any other Chinese official case. Indeed, the official position of any person accused of genocide will not relieve him of criminal responsibility. One may not commit genocide (or) torture without legal reprisal.”

Luo Gan Gets Crash-course in Rule of Law

Mr. Peter Jauhal, a spokesperson for the Falun Dafa Information Centre in London, says that except for the former Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, there is no individual more responsible for the crimes against Falun Gong than Luo Gan. “Inside China, Luo Gan has operated unburdened by China’s constitution to carry out brainwashing, torture or murder of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners including women and children,” says Mr. Jauhal. “Outside of China, Luo has been connected with conducting illegal surveillance resulting in China’s now-famous ‘blacklist,’ used to deny entry to Iceland and other countries to citizens of democratic nations.”

Ironically, media reports say one the reasons for Luo’s trip to the European nations is to learn and exchange ideas about the judiciary and judicial procedure. To that end, Mr. Jauhal says, Luo’s trip may serve as a crash-course in the rule of law.

“If Luo really wants to see how justice is served in a democratic society,” Mr. Jauhal concluded, “these lawsuits may give him first-hand experience. Legal action can be pursued even after Luo has left the countries where the complaints are filed. Let’s hope that Iceland, Finland, and others can uphold their own standards, and in doing so help vindicate the rule of law as a check on the tyranny of the like of Luo Gan.”

Related Links:

Criminal Lawsuit Filed in Finland (Sept. 11, 2003)
Criminal Lawsuit Filed in Iceland (Sep. 8, 2003)
Lawsuits Filed Against Former Leaders of China for Crimes Against Humanity
China’s “Blacklist” Draws Attention in World’s Airports, Raises Alarming Questions (June 14, 2002)

Contact information:

Executive Director of World Organization against Torture U.S. Mr. Morton Sklar: +1-202-296-5702
Icelandic Lawyer in Case against Luo Gan Mr. Ragnar Adalsteinsson: +354-6961306
U.S. Human Rights Attorney Ms. Terri Marsh: +1-202-369-4977
Finnish Lawyer in Case against Luo Gan Mr. Erkki Kannisto: + 358-40-588-1404

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Background

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance.” It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.

With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China’s then-Communist leader, Jiang Zemin, outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report), fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang’s regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. To that end, Jiang established the “6-10 Office,” a Gestapo-like agency spanning from the Central Government to the local governments. The United States Congress has described the “6-10 Office” as an agency charged with “overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong members through organised brainwashing, torture, and murder.” (news)

The Falun Dafa Information Centre has verified details of 781 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2000, however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.