NEW YORK (Reuters) - A follower of the Chinese-banned spiritual group Falun Gong has sued a Chinese government official for $50 million in U.S. court, accusing him of murder, torture, assault, crimes against humanity and other human rights violations.
Peng Liang, a Falun Gong practitioner who attorney Carey D'Avino said was "in hiding" somewhere in China, is named as the plaintiff in the civil lawsuit against Zhao Zhifei, the head of the Public Security Office in Hubei Province who presides over Hubei's public security system and police force.
Zhao, who was visiting the United States and staying at a Manhattan hotel, was served with legal papers late Tuesday night in his hotel lobby, D'Avino said.
"Today we remind Chinese officials that the United States courts can and will hold them responsible for violations of international human rights law," D'Avino told a reporters Wednesday outside Zhao's hotel, where practitioners of Falun Gong gathered and held aloft signs reading "SOS."
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, combines meditation and exercise with Buddhist and Taoist teachings. China banned the group in July 1999, accusing it of being an evil cult trying to topple the communist government.
The civil suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses Zhao of "murder, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary detention, crimes against humanity and violation of the right to life," in addition to other charges.
Followers outside China say more than 200 adherents of Falun Gong have died in Chinese police custody since the ban.
According to court papers, Zhao, as the second-in-command of the Office 610 Hubei Province, which the suit said was organized to crack down on Falun Gong and other religious movements, violated international, U.S., New York state and Chinese law in oppressing members of Falun Gong.
Efforts to contact Zhao and other Chinese officials were unsuccessful Wednesday. D'Avino said he was not certain why Zhao was in New York, but that he did not appear to be on official business.
The U.S. Torture Victim Prevention Act and the Alien Tort Claims Act provide federal jurisdiction for acts of torture and summary execution, no matter where committed, the suit said.
"We have laws in the United States that protect people even outside our borders," D'Avino said.
The suit said that during Zhao's tenure "police officers under his direction and control continued to employ murder, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and arbitrary arrest and detention to eliminate and intimidate practitioners of Falun Gong in Hubei Province."
The suit asks for $50 million in punitive and compensatory damages. Zhao, who D'Avino said was expected to remain in the United States until Thursday, has 20 days to respond, or he will be in default, he said.
The action was brought on behalf of Peng as well as that of his mother and brother, both dead and whom Falun Gong officials say were killed by the government. Few details were disclosed about Peng, whose family operated a bicycle shop, or how the idea for the suit was born or executed.
Chinese officials said early this month that June 20 three Falun Gong practitioners committed suicide, but Falun Gong said they were burned or dragged to death by the government.
Falun Gong followers and supporters will hold a march in Washington Thursday.