DHARAMSHALA, JUNE 24: In a setback to the Tibetans and supporters, a Spanish court on Monday dropped two judicial investigations against former Chinese leaders under a new law that allows Spanish courts to pursue cases only if the accused is a Spanish national or a resident of Spain.
A statement from Spain’s National Court reasoned that the investigations did not comply with the new law that limits Spanish courts’ use of universal jurisdiction to pursue crimes against humanity committed outside its territory.
Spanish Parliament (with 179 votes to 163) in February voted in favor of a law that limits the ability of its judges to go after alleged human rights abusers around the world, much to the dismay of Tibetans and supporters around the world.
A Spanish court judge issued an international arrest warrant for former Chinese leaders including Jiang Zemin and Li Peng on charges of genocide in Tibet in February. Judge Ismael Moreno had asked Interpol to issue the arrest warrants against the five Chinese leaders for alleged “genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.”
The five Chinese leaders are Jiang Zemin, former President and Party Secretary; Li Peng, Prime Minister during the repression in Tibet in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s (and the crackdown in Tiananmen); Qiao Shi, former head of Chinese security and responsible for the Peoples Armed Police during the martial law period in Tibet in the late 1980s; Chen Kuiyuan, Party secretary in the Tibet Autonomous Region from 1992 to 2001 (who was known for his hard-line position against Tibetan religion and culture), and Deng Delyun (also known as Peng Pelyun), minister of family planning in the 1990s.
China expressed its anger over the case saying it could damage ties between Spain and China. The amendment to the law is seen as a move to avoid further angering China which on Monday welcomed the Spanish national courts decision to scrap case against its former leaders. Spain however has denied that the new law was a response to complaints from China.
“We receive with gratitude the efforts of the government and its respective departments,” Chinese Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing.
“As we have always emphasized before, China and Spain enjoy a traditional friendship. The two sides are able to respect and support the other party’s core interests and concerns.”
In 2014, both President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Keqiang have made state visits to European nations such as France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Britain and Greece, but not to Spain.
The Spanish Socialist Party this month had appealed the Constitutional Court in Madrid to review the amendment.
