(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in Zhangjiakou in China's northern Hebei Province filed several lawsuits against former Chinese Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin last month. Jiang ordered the brutal suppression of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, and the persecution has continued through the past 16 years.

According to statistics from the Minghui website, 83 practitioners in Zhangjiakou have been killed through torture and other abuses in state custody since 1999, 164 have been imprisoned, and 310 have been put into labor camps.

In total, at least 4,319 practitioners in Zhangjiakou have been detained, and 782 have been subjected to brainwashing sessions. In addition, 1,026 practitioners' homes were ransacked by authorities and their personal property seized. Authorities have extorted at least 6,608,900 yuan (~$1.06 million USD) in total from Zhangjiakou practitioners.

Former Government Official Sues Jiang

Five practitioners, Wang Haojun, Ge Haibin, Ren Qiaoling, Tang Yaxian and Shen Xiaojie, brought a class action lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. The indictment was sent to the Supreme People's Procuratorate on May 19, 2015.

Wang Haojun and his wife Liang Ying started practicing Falun Gong in February 1995. Mr. Wang was the associate director of the Chicheng County Industry and Commerce Bureau at the time, and Ms. Liang was an accountant.

Less than a month later, the couple reported that their chronic diseases had disappeared. Grateful for the tremendous improvement in their health and well-being, they became determined to continue practicing Falun Gong.

But under Jiang's directive to “ruin their reputation, bankrupt them, and destroy them physically” (referring to Falun Gong practitioners), Mr. Wang was detained four times and held in a labor camp for two years. Their home was illegally searched five times.

His wife traveled with other practitioners to Beijing to petition the central government and protest the persecution in May 2001. She was arrested by police at Tiananmen Square and brutally beaten.

She was then sentenced to five years in prison.

At one stage, police dragged Ms. Liang to an open trial for death row criminals, and later paraded her on the streets to humiliate her. After she was released from prison, she was arrested three more times for practicing Falun Gong. She suffered more than 10 years of physical and psychological torture before passing away on May 14, 2010, at the age of 57.

Mr. Wang's 88-year-old mother, who lost the much-needed support provided by her son and daughter-in-law, was devastated by the continuous harassment she suffered from local authorities. She passed away in 2002.

Practitioners Wang Haojun, Ge Haibin, Ren Qiaoling, Tang Yaxian and Shen Xiaojie wrote in their indictment:

“We were all new Falun Gong practitioners whose health and minds had improved greatly by practicing Falun Gong. We had personally benefited from Falun Gong. However, the wrongdoings inflicted against Falun Gong have not been exonerated. We don't have freedom to openly practice Falun Gong, or freedom of belief or speech. This persecution means we have to study and practice in a constrained manner. Jiang Zemin is responsible for this situation. We would like bring him to justice for his crimes against Falun Gong. Clear the name of Falun Gong and our teacher! Return freedom of religion and human rights to Falun Gong practitioners!”

Practitioner Ge Haibin's express mail receipt for his complaint sent to the Supreme People's Procuratorate on May 19, 2015

Former Bank Employee: Bring Jiang to Justice!

Wang Xinyu, an employee of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's Zhangjiakou Branch, sent his indictment to the Supreme People's Procuratorate on May 22.

“I didn't mention the people who were directly involved in persecuting me. I would like to give them an opportunity [to change their ways] by suing Jiang directly,” Mr. Wang said. “Even though the persecution I personally experienced was very serious, I would like to give the persecutors an opportunity to learn the true story, and recognize right from wrong. They have been deceived, after all,” he added, referring to those compelled to carry out the persecution by orders from above and the regime's hate propaganda used to justify the suppression of Falun Gong.

Mr. Wang said bringing Jiang to justice will help restore morality in China. He hopes that more persecuted Falun Gong practitioners will step forward and sue the former dictator.

“It will help restore the traditional civilization of the Chinese nation and allow justice to prevail in the world,” he said.

Wang Xinyu's express mail receipt and confirmation of delivery to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

ChinaCoal Employee Sues Jiang

Pang Xiaosen, an employee of Zhangjiakou Coal Mine Machinery Co.,Ltd., sent his indictment to the Supreme People's Procuratorate on May 23.

In the indictment, he recounted six instances of persecution he experienced. “My elderly parents have been deeply hurt upon learning about the abuses I suffered for following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance—they were devastated. My father died in 2003, when I was in the labor camp. My mother told me he called my name repeatedly as he passed away with his eyes open.”

Mr. Pang's wife was forced to divorce him under enormous pressure from authorities, which included repeated harassment by police.

Pang Xiaosen's express mail receipt