WEB EXCLUSIVE 

Spanish High Court rules that Chinese leaders must testify on Tibet

A unique lawsuit is under way in Spain under the principle of "universal jurisdiction," a doctrine that allows courts to
reach beyond national borders in cases of torture, terrorism or war crimes. It is a case that is causing some disquiet in Beijing, and with good reason.


According to the International Campaign for Tibet, a Spanish judge on May 5  informed the Chinese Ministry of Justice of rulings against eight Chinese leaders, including Tibet Autonomous Region Party Secretary Zhang Qingli, in the Spanish High Court. The rulings concern an investigation on crimes against the Tibetan people in connection with the harsh crackdown on dissent in Tibet that has been ongoing from March 2008. The judge has requested authorization from the Chinese ministry to question the defendants in China should they refuse to do so before the Spanish court.

Judge Santiago Pedráz also requested authorization to visit prisons and sites of major protests in Tibet, as well as permission from the Indian government to interview Tibetan witnesses in Dharamsala, base of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan exile government.

The lawsuit is one of two on Tibet currently underway in the Spanish High Court under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” a doctrine that allows courts to reach beyond national borders in cases of torture, terrorism or war crimes. The lawsuit dealing with the period from 2006, specifically on the last year’s crackdown, was filed by Tibet Support Committee of Spain (CAT) and Fundacion Casa Del Tibet, Barcelona and accepted by the court just days before the opening of the Beijing Olympics in August 2008.

Alan Cantos of the Spanish Tibet Support Committee and a major force behind the suit, has made this video to explain the cases and it includes an interview with one of the witnesses:

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