Beginning on Monday, arguments will be presented on the critical issue of whether foreign officials can benefit from immunity in Canadian courts for acts of torture.
In 2004, several Canadian residents filed a civil lawsuit in Toronto seeking to hold five Chinese officials—including former President Jiang Zemin—responsible for the torture they suffered in China. The plaintiffs are practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement targeted for severe repression by the Chinese government.
Although the defendants have ignored the lawsuit, a group called the All China Lawyers Association intervened to argue that the officials are entitled to immunity. The Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) and Amnesty International Canada (AI Canada) are intervening to ask the court to refuse immunity to the defendants and allow the case to proceed.
A private member’s bill was introduced in Parliament in November 2009, with support from representatives of all federal parties, seeking to eliminate immunity in cases like these relating to torture and other severe human rights violations.
The hearing follows a similar lawsuit filed in Montreal by the son of slain Canadian citizen Zahra Kazemi, who was tortured to death in Iran in 2003. CCIJ and AI Canada experts are available to brief media on both the Kazemi and Falun Gong cases.
What: Kunlun Zhang, et al. v. Jiang Zemin, et al.
When: 29 March 2010, 10:00 a.m. The hearing will run for two days.
Where: 393 University, 8th floor, Courtroom 804, Toronto
