Tibet Lawsuits in Spain: An Introduction
Two Tibet lawsuits are currently underway 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. In a new written statement, the Chinese government has strongly rejected a judicial request for officials to testify in court in Madrid and demanded that the Spanish government block this ground-breaking investigation in the Spanish High Court on crimes against the Tibetan people. The two Tibet lawsuits are the result of years of dedication and relentless hard work by Jose Elias Esteve Molto, a Professor of International Law at the University of Valencia, and Alan Cantos of the Spanish Tibet Support Committee (CAT), a research scientist in oceanography for more than 15 years. ICT conducted this interview with Alan Cantos and Jose Elias Esteve Molto in April as an introduction to the significance of the cases. One of the witnesses, Kelsang, also speaks on this footage about giving evidence in Spain.
For more information:
- FACT SHEET: Tibetan Deaths Under China’s Crackdown since March 2008
- China gives written threat to Spain over Tibet, Spanish court adds Nangpala carnage
- ‘Spanish High Court rules that Chinese leaders must testify on Tibet,’ at http://savetibet.org/media-center/ict…
- ‘In search of justice: testifying on Tibet in Madrid,’ at http://weblog.savetibet.org/2009/04/3…
- Tibet Support Committee of Spain (Comite De Apoyo Al Tibet – CAT) at http://www.tibetcat.com
China threatens Spain over Tibet Lawsuits: Rights group
[Friday, 21 August 2009, 11:49 a.m.]
Dharamshala: The Chinese government has firmly refused a judicial request from a Spanish court to try Chinese authorities responsible for their heavy-handed approach to the peaceful protests in Tibet last year, a US-based human rights group said.
The security clampdown by Chinese security forces and police across Tibet left more than 220 Tibetans dead and over 1,294 were seriously injured. Over 5,600 were arrested, 290 sentenced and more than 1,000 have simply disappeared, as per information received by the Central Tibetan Administration.
In August 2008, the Tibet Support Committee of Spain (Comite de Apoyo al Tibet) and Fundacion Casa Del Tibet, Barcelona filed lawsuits against eight Chinese leaders, including Zhang Qingli, Tibet Autonomous Region Party, for the violent crackdown in Tibet. The complaints were accepted by 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, genocide and crimes against humanity, the International Campaign of Tibet (ICT) reported.
In his 5 May rulings, Spanish Judge Santiago Pedraz, who is handling the case, had sought authorisation from China’s ministry of justice to question the defendants in China should they refuse to do so before the Spanish court.
The judge said that if the accusations made in the complaint were proven, then they would constitute crimes against humanity under Spanish and international law. “The Tibetan population would appear to be a group that is persecuted by the cited authorities for political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious or other motives universally recognised as unacceptable under international law,” an AFP news report of 5 May 2009 quoted Mr Pedraz as saying.
The Chinese embassy in Madrid had shot off a letter to the Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in Madrid on 16 June, terming the judicial procedure as a “false lawsuit”.
“The acceptance of said false lawsuit by Spain’s Audiencia Nacional [High Court] has violated the basic principles of state jurisdiction and immunity established by international law and is not covered by the Treaty on Judicial Assistance on Criminal Matters between China and Spain. The Chinese party firmly refuses any request for judicial assistance regarding this case, while demanding that Spain assumes her responsibilities regarding international law, adopts immediate and effective measures to prevent any violation of the Treaty on Judicial Assistance in Criminal Matters between China and Spain and puts a stop to said case as soon as possible,” the letter noted.
The ICT quoted unnamed sources as saying that a representative of the Chinese Embassy in Madrid told Spanish officials that Judge Santiago Pedraz would be arrested if he attempted to visit China.
The Tibet lawsuits are threatened by a resolution passed by Spain’s Congress on 19 May to limit the jurisdiction of judges to cases in which there is a clear Spanish connection.
Despite the ruling and continuing pressure from China, Judge Pedraz has recently announced the extension of one of the Tibet lawsuits to include an investigation into the Nangpa pass shooting of September 2006, when 17-year old nun Kelsang Namtso was shot dead by Chinese border forces while attempting to cross Tibet’s border into exile. Judge Pedraz again asked the Indian government for permission to travel to India in order to interview the Tibetan witnesses of the Nangpa shooting. American climber, Luiz Benitez, who witnessed Kelsang Namtso being fatally shot in the back as she and other nuns, monks and children attempted to flee across the Nangpa Pass, gave evidence on 17 July to Judge Pedraz at Spain’s High Court.
According to Spanish lawyers involved in the lawsuit, the new ruling by the Spanish Congress on universal jurisdiction cases may be formalized within the next few weeks. The impact on the Tibet lawsuits depends on whether the law will be applied retroactively to cases introduced before this period, which includes universal jurisdiction cases relating to terrorists and drug dealers as well as crimes against humanity.
(source: www.tibet.net)
Watch the documentary: Murder in the Snow (the Nangpa la shooting)
