TORONTO—Falun Gong practitioners are appealing a decision by an Ontario Superior Court judge that would allow the All China Lawyers Association to intervene in their genocide lawsuit.
ACLA brought a motion to intervene in the case of Rong Jin, a Falun Gong practitioner who was tortured in China. Jin is suing Bo Xilai for torture she suffered while a student in mainland China.
Although the Chinese regime has not responded to the suit, ACLA has. According to David Matas, one of two lawyers representing Jin, ACLA has requested intervenor status in suits brought against the Chinese regime all over the world.
Malcolm Ruby, who represents the association, has said that it did so in this case after being contacted by the Chinese embassy.
Lawyers for Jin oppose ACLA arguing on the regime’s behalf because the association has been directly involved in denying Falun Gong practitioners access to legal representation in China.
“We opposed the intervention application of the All China Lawyers Association on the grounds that it is part of the persecution of the Falun Gong group in China,” says Munyonzwe Hamalengwa, Jin’s lawyer
While the lawyer representing ACLA declined to be interviewed, in court he said that because this suit involves an official of the Chinese regime, his client should be allowed to argue for state immunity.
Hamalengwa says state immunity is a general defense against any crime.
“If a government official tortures you, they are not supposed to be sued. It is almost like they should get off scot-free.”
Jin’s lawyers are arguing that state immunity does not apply in this instance because Bo Xilai was acting in a private capacity and that ACLA must not be given intervenor status because they are part of the persecution.
Unlike lawyer associations in free countries, in China, ACLA acts on the regime’s behalf and has no independence. In China, lawyers that represent Falun Gong practitioners lose their licenses to practice. Some, including Gao Zhisheng have even been “disappeared.” In the past, Gao was tortured for months on end for defending Falun Gong adherents in China.
It is ACLA—with which all lawyers in China are affiliated through branch organizations—that has ordered its members not to represent practitioners.
“They are part of the Chinese government, and they come to court with dirty hands and they must not be allowed to,” says Hamalengwa.
“It is almost like a rapist being allowed to cross-examine the person he raped, in court.”
Canadian courts do not let a self-represented rapist to do such a thing, he noted.
Letting ACLA act as an intervenor would make the court a tool of the Chinese government because it allows the regime to make a defense without having to face the charges.
Several organizations have raised concerns about ACLA’s dubious nature, including the New York City bar, the International Bar, the Law Society of Upper Canada, and the U.S. Congress.
“Our client was tortured, harassed, imprisoned, and generally mentally and physically oppressed. Torture is one of the most serious experiences one can have and is prohibited by the UN convention against torture,” Hamalengwa says.
“Right now international law is moving towards stripping individuals who torture people of state immunity and other protections.”
Matas, a Nobel nominee and member of the Order of Canada, is equally concerned with ACLA’s intervenor attempt.
“The ACLA is part of the denial of justice in China. They are involved with disbarment of lawyers, intimidation of lawyers, who try to represent and defend Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted, and they’re coming to court in Canada to try to get immunity for the Chinese government,” he says.
“They’ve got blood on their hands themselves, they’re part of the denial of the rule of law, and our view is that the court should not exercise its discretion in their favour to participate in a fair legal system because they themselves are unfair.”
ACLA is directly controlled by China’s justice ministry, which is in turn directly controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, making the association fully under the direction of the very regime charged with torture, notes Matas.
An appeal filed to the Ontario Court of Appeals seeks to overturn a previous decision allowing ACLA to intervene in the case.
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