Mirror, 4 October 2015

By John Shammas – A documentary entitled Hard To Believe makes shocking allegations about how prisoners are having livers, kidneys, corneas and even their hearts harvested. The Chinese government has been accused of harvesting the hearts, livers and kidneys of religious prisoners while they are still alive to sell to ‘transplant tourists’.

A new documentary attempts to expose the alleged actions which have been rumoured since 2006 when human rights lawyers began campaigning on the issue.

It is claimed in the documentary Hard To Believe that supporters of the Falun Gong faith are being targeted.

Director Ken Stone told MailOnline: “What drew me to the story was that the evidence was so strong and yet it’s hardly talked about. What we did was explore why the reports and documentaries have gotten so little attention.

“A number of people have come up with such strong evidence, but they are consistently ignored.”

The Falun Gong faith began in the 90s, with 100 million becoming followers.

However the Chinese government cracked down on the religion, with thousands of people being detained and becoming religious prisoners.

Since 1999 the religion has been banned, but in reality Falun Gong is still largely active.

The documentary tracks investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann alongside Canadian Secretary of State David Kilgour and human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize nominee David Matas as they attempt to expose the alleged practice of harvesting organs.

In the film, a surgeon even admits to taking the organs of religious prisoners.

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Gutmann said: “There’s a general tendency to not want to look atrocities in the face. We acknowledge a terrible atrocity only after it’s over. Look at how long it took before the Holocaust was recognised.

“This is a pattern we see over and over again.”

The documentary, produced by PBS, will air in the US next week.

It will coincide with President Obama welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping to the US as he arrives to address the United Nations.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/thousands-religious-prisoners-china-have-6567660