19 May 2008
Spanish court hears testimony
(AFP) A Spanish court hearing a genocide case against seven top Chinese leaders, including former president Jiang Zemin and former prime minister Li Peng, heard testimony from three Tibetan monks. Judge Ismael Moreno of the Audiencia Nacional (National Audience), Spain's highest criminal court, questioned Palden Gyatso, Jampel Monlam and Bhagdro who spent time in prison in China for their "counter-revolutionary activities" in Tibet. Since June 2006, the court has been hearing the case against the seven Chinese leaders for torture and crimes against humanity as well as genocide allegedly carried out in Tibet during the 1980s. The case followed a complaint from the Barcelona-based Tibet House foundation and the non-governmental organisation Tibet Support Committee. "Our hope is to spark a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Hu Jintao", said the director of the Tibet House, Thubten Wangchen, an exiled Tibetan who is now a Spanish citizen. China has condemned the accusations of genocide in Tibet as slander and it has accused Madrid of trying to interfere in its administration of the region.