December 26, 2013

• The Chinese government has expressed its approval of the Spanish authorities’ moves last week to close down a ground-breaking Tibet lawsuit involving orders of arrest against Chinese leaders.
• Spanish newspaper El Pais, quoting Spanish Justice Ministry sources, reported on December 15 that the leadership in Madrid was intending to take steps to limit the Spanish judiciary’s powers to investigate human rights abuses under the principle of universal jurisdiction, after Spanish judges ordered warrants of arrest to be issued after five Chinese leaders for their policies in Tibet (ICT report, Tibet lawsuits: Update following ground-breaking ruling by the Spanish courts). A full translation of the El Pais article into English is published below.
• A Chinese delegation sent to Spain last week to express disapproval of the Spanish court orders was led by an official who presided over a campaign to compel Tibetan villagers to raise Chinese flags which has led to protests and a violent crackdown.