(Minghui.org) Practitioners held rallies on September 3 and 11, 2025 at Piazza Capranica in Rome, Italy, to raise public awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 26-year persecution of Falun Gong. The plaza is located near the lower house of the Italian Parliament. Representatives came to the rallies to show their support for practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution and to condemn the atrocity of systematic live organ harvesting in China.

Rallies Demand End to China’s Persecution of Falun Gong

The practitioners displayed a banner at Piazza Capranica that read “Stop Organ Harvesting from Living Falun Gong Practitioners in China,” which caught many people’s attention. The recent conversation between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian president Putin at a military parade in Beijing sparked international discussion. Xi spoke about how to extend a person’s life to 150 through organ transplants using new biotechnology. Falun Gong practitioners held two rallies in Rome to inform the public about this serious issue.

Where would a readily available supply of organs come from? The number of organ transplant surgeries performed in China has exploded since 1999, the year the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners began. Multiple sources – including independent tribunal findings, eye-witness accounts, and independent investigations from human rights lawyers and experts – revealed the heinous crime committed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In China, the CCP systematically harvests organs from living prisoners of conscience, especially Falun Gong practitioners, who are incarcerated for refusing to give up their practice.

Falun Gong practitioners held a rally to tell people about the ongoing persecution in China.

Representatives and Officials Voice Their Support

Representatives and officials spoke at the rallies to support practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution – including Guilio Terzi, Senator of Brothers of Italy and former Italian Foreign Minister; Matteo Angioli, Senator Terzi’s consultant; Sergio Rastrelli, Senator of Brothers of Italy; and Pietrangelo Massaro, vice president of the Rome City Council.

Dignitaries attended the practitioners’ rally at Piazza Capranica on September 11, 2025, to show their support – Senator Guilio Terzi (middle, black suit) and his consultant Matteo Angioli (middle, holding the banner), and Senator Sergio Rastrelli (fourth from left).

Pietrangelo Massaro (third from right), vice president of the Rome City Council, joined the practitioners’ rally on September 3, 2025, at Piazza Capranica.

Senator Sergio Rastrelli condemned the CCP, “The CCP is a criminal regime, and [ending the persecution] is a battle of civilization.”

Regarding live organ harvesting, Senator Rastrelli said, “We know the CCP has committed this crime for the past 20 years. This is especially unsettling, yet it’s happening in China. This is a criminal regime at work; they systematically persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

“We must take a firm and clear stand. Only when we strongly object to such systemic persecution and outrageous violation of human rights can we protect freedom on a global scale. This is a battle of civilization without borders. Everything that happens in China will eventually have an impact on fundamental freedom in the West and, hence, Italy.

“As a member of the Senate, practitioners not only have my full support, but I also officially promise to stand with Falun Gong practitioners in every fight to protect freedom and justice.”

Senator Condemns the CCP on Social Media

Senator Giulio Terzi issued a statement on his social media on September 11, 2025.

In his statement on social media issued on September 11, 2025, Senator Giulio Terzi wrote, “The practice of the spiritual discipline of Falun Gong has been banned in China since 1999. This is a battle of civilization and human dignity, reaffirming the inviolability and universality of fundamental human rights, while denouncing the odious practice of forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners held in China’s horrific prisons.

“This abuse significantly contributes to the clandestine organ trafficking that has also been denounced at the UN.

“This criminal behavior is condemned by the Shen Yun company, which performs dance and music based on ancient Chinese traditions dating back to before the rise of the Chinese Communist Party. It goes without saying that, for this reason, Shen Yun has also been banned in China.

“This is a veritable persecution, not limited to the borders of China but is perpetrated both through intimidation against members of the Chinese diaspora and through pressure on Italian theater directors to discredit Shen Yun.

“Interference and constraints on freedom of expression and culture in our country cannot be tolerated.”