Russian Supporters of Spiritual Movement Sue Chinese Consul Over Threats

A rally consisting of seven supporters of the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was held in the Siberian city of Irkutsk on Tuesday.

The rally members who gathered near the building of the Irkutsk region administration protested against the interdiction of the movement in China that violates the Constitution and the international human rights standards, Regions.ru website reported. They said that the Irkutsk center of Falun Dafa had brought a suit against the Chinese consul general in Russia, He Goan. A rally member, Nadezhda Lai, quoted by the website, said that the consul had made threats of reprisals towards the supporters of the movement.

The Falun Dafa supporters demand the authorities to condemn the activities of China and, personally, of the former leader of the Communist Party of China, Jiang Zeming.

The officials of the administration of the Irkutsk region, quoted by the website, said that they have no right to interfere with Chinese interior affairs.

This faction of Falun Dafa appeared in Irkutsk in the beginning of 2000. It consists of 10-15 people, the website reported.