Tibet Genocide Case

 

In October 2013, Spain’s national court indicted former Chinese president Hu Jintao for charges of crimes against humanity, torture and genocide against the people of Tibet. Because Hu is no longer in office, he has lost his right to immunity from universal jurisdiction. The plaintiff, Thubten Wangchen, is a Tibetan exile who holds Spanish citizenship. He originally filed the case in Madrid in 2006.

In June, Tibetan exile groups appealed the Court’s decision in June 2013 to drop the case. The court overturned the decision and approved the indictment because of China’s refusal to investigate the allegations of human rights abuses. In November 2013, the same court issued additional arrest warrants or several other former Chinese leaders, including former President Jiang Zeming and former Prime Minister Li Peng.

This same court issued an arrest warrant for Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998. Although the Spanish court system has championed universal jurisdiction as a mechanism for holding violators of human rights accountable, Chinese leaders are not likely to face the Spanish court. All five ex-Chinese leaders face the risk of arrest if they travel to Spain or countries recognizing Spain’s arrest warrants. Former Chinese leaders, however, do not leave the country and thus are unlikely to face the Spanish court. China has denied the accusations of genocide and human rights violations in Tibet and censured Spain’s leaders for the decision.

 

Source: "China’s former leader Hu Jintao indicted for policies in Tibet by Spanish court." Newsroom. International Campaign For Tibet, 11 Oct 2013. Web. 2 Feb. 2014. <http://www.savetibet.org/chinas-former-leader-hu-jintao-indicted-for-policies-in-tibet-by-spanish-court/>.