Judge to decide:
If the Attorney General will be allowed to intervene in Falun Gong lawsuit
Hearing before Her Honour Justice Simpson
10.00am, Monday March 10, Supreme Court of NSW, Room 12C
A hearing today will decide whether or not the federal government will be allowed
to intervene in the civil action against a Chinese official for his role in
the torture and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Guangdong province,
China.
Last November, the Attorney General intervened to prevent default judgment in
favour of the torture victims after receiving correspondence from the Chinese
Embassy.
Both former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and the current Foreign Minister
Stephen Smith have signed certificates pursuant to the Foreign States Immunity
Act 1985 in an attempt to shield the defendant.
The plaintiffs, Ms Yan XIE (Shirley) and Ms Fuying LI had applied for default
judgment after the defendant failed to appear in court. Both women suffered
torture in Guangdong Province, at a time when the defendant was personally overseeing
the detention, torture and forced brainwashing of Falun Gong practitioners in
the region.
"The Australian government should be protecting Australian victims of torture,
not the torturers", said Mr Newton Xu, legal assistant to the case. "Instead
our government is wasting taxpayers’ money by briefing a QC to effectively act
as de facto representative to the defendant."
Posting date: 10/Mar/2008
Original article date: 10/Mar/2008
Category: Media Release