A judge in Spain is seeking the arrest of formers leaders of China over claims of genocide in Tibet.
High Court Judge Ismael Moreno has asked Interpol to order the arrest of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, former premier Li Peng and three other officials in order to be questioned on charges of genocide raised by Tibetan rights groups in Spain.
Spain’s government People’s Party, however, is trying to introduce new laws which would limit judges’ ability to pursue the principle that crimes against humanity can be prosecuted across borders.
That principle was used in 1998 when a Spanish judge brought about the arrest of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London, although Pinochet eventually returned to Chile on health grounds.
Now Judge Moreno says that Jiang exercised supervisory authority over those who directly committed abuses, thus making Jiang responsible for torture, genocide and crimes against humanity in Tibet.
China has called upon the Spanish government to prevent further lawsuits seeking to investigate alleged human rights abuses in Tibet, which it claims it “peacefully liberated” from poverty and exploitation in 1950.
