Former Chinese premier ordered to appear in U.S. federal court

Civil suit accuses Li Peng of crimes against humanity

In this story: Rights groups: Li ordered crackdown First recognition RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

NEW YORK, United States (CNN) -- A judge has ordered former Chinese Premier Li Peng to appear before U.S. federal court on civil charges in connection with the 1989 deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III ordered Li to either appear or send counsel to an October 13 pretrial hearing in New York federal court. Human rights groups did not expect Li to attend the session.

Li, now head of China's parliament, is accused in a civil lawsuit of crimes against humanity, summary execution, torture, and arbitrary detention that followed his declaration of martial law on May 20, 1989, in an effort to end the protests.

The lawsuit was filed on August 31 by four Chinese dissidents -- who had been student leaders that were arrested during the Tiananmen protests -- and the brother of a protester killed in the conflict.

The lawsuit was served later that day to Li's security entourage. Li was in New York when the lawsuit was filed. He had been attending the United Nations' Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments.

Rights groups: Li ordered crackdown

The lawsuit charged that starting on June 3, 1989, People's Liberation Army soldiers and the People's Armed Police -- using semi-automatic weapons and armored cars -- used force to clear Beijing's streets of demonstrators and civilians.

Human rights groups -- including the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the dissidents -- have said Li gave the order for that crackdown.

The lawsuit contended that Li should have "sought to halt the egregious abuses of human rights that occurred when troops began their assault." Chinese officials have said the crackdown was necessary to restore law and order.

There has never been a full accounting of the Tiananmen incident, and an exact number of those killed during the crackdown has never been made available. Estimates place the death toll in the thousands.

The protests had begun on April 17, 1989, when thousands of students from various schools rallied at Tiananmen Square -- demanding their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

The students also pressed their demands for political reform and an end of widespread corruption.

In filing the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that the U.S. court had jurisdiction based on a 1789 U.S. law, known as the Alien Tort Claims Act, that allows victims of torture or human rights abuses anywhere in the world to demand reparation before a U.S. federal court.

If the court rules against Li, he could be ordered to pay monetary damages, but he would not face a prison sentence.

First recognition

Human rights experts do not expect Li to appear before the court. Plaintiffs in past lawsuits against international leaders have had little success in U.S. courts, so the current suit could be seen as largely symbolic.

However, rights activists said Pauley's decision was the first recognition by an international legal system that the Tiananmen crackdown involved human rights violations.

Four of the plaintiffs -- Zhou Suo Fen, Liu Gang, Xiong Yan and Wang Dan -- had been on China's "most-wanted list" of 21 student leaders following the protests.

"Some of those who were detained for up to two years did not have a fair trial, or were held without any charges lodged against them," Jennie Green, attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in August.

"These people lived in horrible conditions, were subjected to electric shock and had little or no contact with families. They were arrested when their names were posted on a 'most wanted list' with 17 other student leaders," she added.

Journalist Guillaume Debre and Reuters contributed to this report.

Tiananmen part but not all of modern-day China's legacy
Beyond Tiananmen: Clinton in China
Why June 4 will be taboo in China for a long time
China cracks down on Tiananmen Square protesters

Embassy of the People's Republic of China in U.S.
U.S. Embassy in China

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.