06. May 2009
Spanish judge wants to question Chinese leaders
(AFP) As part of the Spanish legal system's principle of 'universal jurisdiction' a Spanish judge investigating charges of genocide has announced that he wants to question eight important Chinese official about repression following the unrest in Tibet in 2008. National Court judge Santiago Pedraz sent a letter formally requesting permission to travel to China to question the eight, among them Defence Minister Liang Guanglie and Minister for State Security Geng Huichang, following a suit filed against the men for genocide in July 2008 by the Dharamsala based Tibet Support Committee. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said: "We urge the appropriate countries to respect international laws and the rules of diplomatic relations, and not to encourage separatist forces", after being questioned at a press conference whether Beijing will permit the questioning of the eight officials.