In English below
Press release from the Tibet Support Committee-CAT
THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS BURIES UNIVERSAL JUSTICE FOR TIBET
Chronicle of impunity
15 January 2021
Of the 15 anniversary of the admission processing of the Tibet complaint to the funeral for his death in just a few days.
The Secretariat of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has just communicated the inadmissibility of the demands of the Tibet case. This Decision adopted by the Court by a single Judge, dated on 17 December 2020 “It is final and cannot be appealed”. With this verdict, The Strasbourg Court certifies the death of universal justice for Tibet.
In this link the PDF with the squalid resolution of the ECtHR.
The decision, although they are cited in a cut and paste of a paragraph, articles of the agreement and the rules of the court, does not offer sufficient information or explain the specific causes of the inadmissibility in response to the 30 folios of arguments and legal grounds of the CAT appellants.
Chronology of the events of this chronicle of impunity:
- In July 2005 Dozens of cases of torture were reported to the Spanish National Court, forced disappearances, murders, massacres of Tibetans at the hands of the Army and Chinese forces
- He 10 of January of 2006 Three judges of this court unanimously admitted the complaint for processing, estimating prima faciae that a genocide had been committed in Tibet.
- During 8 years dozens of Tibetan victims, direct witnesses, experts, Jurists and representatives of different human rights organizations provided their testimony and evidence of the reported facts.
- As a result of this judicial investigation, the 18 November 2013, the three judges of the Third Section of the Criminal Chamber of the National Court, unanimously, International arrest warrants were issued against authorities of the Chinese Communist Party, like previous presidents Hu Jintao (in process), Jiang Zemin, or his former Prime Minister, Li Peng, by “deducing the existence of indications in the participation” of international crimes reported.
- days later, representatives of the Chinese Communist Party went to the Congress of Deputies in Madrid to demand the filing of the complaint and the Spanish Government. The Spanish Government knelt before the Beijing authorities and parliament approved the de facto repeal of universal justice that came into force on 14 March 2014. The public reason given for this legal reform according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs was: maintain good economic and trade relations with China, including the 20 of the Spanish debt in the hands of this country.
- Three days later the 17 March, the investigating judge of the case, requests that the prosecutor report on this new situation to proceed with the filing of the Tibet case.
- Since then, more than seven years of appeals have passed, in which not even the National Court, nor the Supreme Court, Neither the Constitutional Court in Spain nor now the Court of Strasbourg have raised any legal objection to this legislative reform imposed by the Chinese Communist Party.. Not a single.
José Elias Esteve Moltó, eThe investigative lawyer who is the author of the complaints and professor of International Law at the University of Valencia, Given these facts, he has raised these questions: "Siendo así, ¿Where are the values and principles and protection of human rights of the supposed Western democracies and their institutions?? ¿Where are democracies headed if they leave aside their founding principles?? If the Rules of Law with all their institutions are not capable of resisting the attacks and blackmail of the Chinese Communist Party, ¿To what uncertain future are they leading citizens??
José Elías added: “Legislative changes such as that of universal justice in Spain and Resolutions such as that of Strasbourg lead to distrust in our institutions that must protect our fundamental rights; and precisely, This distrust is the breeding ground that feeds populism that grows uncontrollably in all countries of the world.. And meanwhile, Many are surprised by these movements, which are nothing more than the effects of a crisis of values and principles."
Alan Cantos, director of the Tibet Support Committee -CAT, main plaintiffs in the case have declared: “A door has closed, but the “fight for rights” must continue and other doors must be opened in other judicial forums, in other countries where the long tentacles of political pressures and economic threats from China and other powerful countries have not yet reached and still keep Universal Jurisdiction alive in their courts. It is important, in that continuity necessary for Universal Jurisdiction in Spain, that since this file has been for procedural reasons, if it is possible to modify the currently castrated JU law, and current obstacles are removed, the case of Tibet and hopefully many others archived, could be reopened.
Nima Binara, a prestigious Tibetan lawyer, summed it up perfectly, shortly before the news of the ECtHR became known: “It was a pioneering lawsuit. made history, and that will never be erased by the unfortunate subsequent change to the Spanish law.. An independent national court declared a prima facie case that China had committed genocide in Tibet, Hu Jintao was personally charged with genocide in Tibet, and international arrest warrants were issued for Jiang Zemin and Li Peng. That was a testament to the bravery of the victims who testified.”
Manuel Ollé Sesé, lawyer of the CAT legal team and professor of International Criminal Law at the Complutense University of Madrid has communicated this reflection to us: “Once again the hope that the dignity of the Tibetan victims will be restored disappears.”, when they are stripped of their human right to access justice. It is time for States to accept once and without hesitation all the obligations imposed by international law in the prosecution of the most serious international crimes.. Every time a case like the one in Tibet is falsely closed, justice throughout the international community suffers..
Maite Parejo Sousa, international lawyer from the CAT legal team also spoke in these terms: “This is a new setback for the Tibetan victims who have not been protected even in Tibet.”, not even in Spain, nor by the judicial body that should guarantee human rights in Europe. The impunity of the perpetrators of international crimes and the protection of their victims continues to be a pending issue for the international community. A battle has been lost, but the fight against impunity for these atrocities must continue”.
Thubten Wangchen, buddhist monk, Tibetan Spanish, victim and witness, private accusation in the complaint and director of the Casa del Tíbet Foundation of Barcelona declared this afternoon: "Es decepcionante que el Tribunal de Estrasburgo, the highest human rights body in Europe, eliminate any possibility of judging the Tibetan genocide and do not even argue that rejection to the plaintiffs. The answer has been “no because not”. This is a hard blow to the memory of those who have already passed away., also to the Tibetans who have survived the torture of the Chinese government and trusted that justice would be done. Europe has failed us, Spain has failed us, but the Tibetan people are resilient and never give up. We Tibetan exiles are the only ones who can give a voice to our oppressed brothers within China. We will look for alternatives outside Europe to judge the Chinese genocide killers and torturers. “We trust that the truth will prevail and we are sure that in a few years the Strasbourg Human Rights Court will be ashamed of this ruling.”.
End of the press release.
Press release by Tibet Support Committee-CAT
THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS BURIES UNIVERSAL JUSTICE FOR TIBET
A saga of impunity
15 January 2021
From the 15th Anniversary of the admission of the Tibet genocide lawsuit to its funeral in just a few days.
The Secretary of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has just announced the dismissal of the lawsuits in the Tibet case. The Court’s adoption of a decision taken by a single judge on 17 December 2020, “is definitive and cannot be the object of an appeal”. With this verdict, the Strasbourg Court certifies the death of universal justice for Tibet.
In this link the PDF file with the meager resolution of the ECHR.
Even though the rejection letter cites some articles of the court`s convention and regulations in a short cut and paste paragraph, the decision offers not enough information and neither explains the concrete causes of the inadmission in response of 30 pages of arguments and grounds of law offered by the CAT plaintiffs.
Chronology of facts in this saga of impunity:
- In July 2005 dozens of cases of torture, forced disappearances, murders and killings of Tibetans at the hands of Chinese forces and the Chinese Army were denounced at the Audiencia Nacional (Spain’s Special Investigation Court).
- On 10 January 2006 three judges of that court unanimously accepted the lawsuit, deeming prima faciae that genocide had been committed in Tibet.
- For eight years, dozens of Tibetan victims, eyewitnesses, experts, jurists and representatives of different human rights organizations presented their testimonies and proof of the acts denounced.
- As a result of this judicial investigation, on 18 November 2013 the three judges of the Audiencia Nacional’s Criminal Court Section 3 ruled unanimously to issue international arrest warrants against leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, including former presidents Hu Jintao (in process) and Jiang Zemin, and former prime minister Li Peng, after “deducing the existence of indications of their participation” in the international crimes denounced.
- Days later, representatives of the Chinese Communist Party went to the Spanish Parliament in Madrid to demand the lawsuit be closed. The Spanish Government bowed the knee to the Beijing authorities, and the Spanish Parliament approved the de facto revocation of universal justice, which became law on 14 March 2014.
- According to the Foreign Ministry, the official reason given for this legal reform was: to maintain good economic and business relations with China, which included 20% of Spain’s national debt being in Chinese hands.
- Three days later, on 17 March, the judge investigating the case asked the prosecution to clarify this new situation, in order to proceed with closing the Tibet case.
Over seven years of appeals have passed since then, in which neither Spain’s Special Court (National Court), nor Supreme Court nor Constitutional Court or now the Strasbourg Court have presented any legal objection to this legislative reform imposed by the Chinese Communist Party. Not a single one.
José Elía Esteve Moltó, faced with these news and facts, the research lawyer author of the Tibet lawsuits and Professor of International Law at the University of Valencia has declared: “So just where are the values and principles and the protection of human rights of the so-called Western democracies and their institutions? Where are these democracies heading if they ignore their basic principles? If the rule of law, with all its institutions, is incapable of resisting clashes with and blackmail of the Chinese Communist Party, to what uncertain future is it leading its citizens?
Joseph Elijah added: “Changes in legislation such as that regarding universal justice in Spain, and court rulings such as that of the Strasbourg Court, lead to mistrust in our institutions that should protect our fundamental rights; and it is precisely this mistrust that has become the breeding ground for the populisms that are spreading like wildfire throughout the world. Meanwhile, many people express surprise at these movements, which are nothing more than the result of a crisis in values and principles.
Alan Cantos, Director of the Tibet Support Committee – CAT, main plaintiffs in the case spoke out yesterday: “One door has closed, but the “fight for human rights” should continue and other doors should open in other judicial forums in other countries where the long tentacles of political pressure and economic threats from China have not yet reached and they maintain their Universal Jurisdiction (UJ) laws alive in their courts.
And most importantly, in this necessary continuity for UJ in Spain and given that this shelving was due to procedural causes, if the UJ law in Spain, presently castrated, is changed and the present obstacles removed, the case of Tibet could be re-opened, and hopefully many other cases shelved by the domino effect”.
Nima Binara, a prestigious Tibetan lawyer, summed it up prefectly shortly before the news from the ECHR was known: "This was a ground-breaking lawsuit. It made history, and the unfortunate subsequent change in Spanish law will never erase that. An independent national court found a prima facie case that China had committed genocide in Tibet, Hu Jintao was personally indicted for genocide in Tibet, and international arrest warrants were issued for Jiang Zemin and Li Peng. That was a testament to the bravery of the victims who testified."
Manuel Ollé Sesé, lawyer in the CAT’s legal team, and professor of International Criminal Law in Madrid’s Complutense University: “Hope in the restoration of the Tibetan victims’ dignity vanishes once again, as they are deprived of their human right to access justice. It is time that States fully accept once and for all and without hesitation all the obligations imposed by international law in the persecution of the most serious international crimes. Every time a case like that of Tibet is falsely closed, justice is weakened throughout the entire international community.”
Maite Parejo Sousa, international lawyer in the CAT’s legal team: “This is a new setback for Tibetan victims, who have not found [legal] protection in Tibet or inSpain, or in the judicial body that should guarantee human rights in Europe. The impunity of the perpetrators of international crimes, and the protection of the victims of those crimes continues to be unresolved business for the international community. The battle has been lost, but the fight against impunity for these atrocities must continue.”
Thubten Wangchen, is a Buddhist monk, Spanish Tibetan, victim and witness, private prosecutor in the lawsuit, and director of the Fundación Casa del Tíbet in Barcelona co-plaintiffs in the case: “It is disappointing that the Strasburg Court, Europe’s highest human rights body, should eliminate any possibility of judging the genocide in Tibet, and not even explain such a dismissal to the plaintiffs. Their reply has been: “No, because I say so.” This is a hard blow to the memory of those who have already died, and also to those Tibetans who have survived torture at the hands of the Chinese Government, and who had faith that justice would be served. Europe has failed us, Spain has failed us, but the Tibetan people are resilient and will never give up. We, the Tibetans in exile, are the only people who can give a voice to our oppressed brothers in China. We will seek alternatives outside Europe to bring the Chinese torturers and perpetrators of genocide to trial. We have faith that the truth will triumph, and we are confident that within a few years the Strasburg Court of Human Rights will be ashamed of this verdict.”
End of Press Release.
