Tuesday, 19-Feb-2002

BEIJING, Feb 19 (AFP) - Three Swedish and one German follower of the Falungong spiritual group had been expelled from China as of Tuesday after taking part in a protest in Beijing last week, diplomats and the group said.

Ulrik Dahlgren, 31, was expected in Copenhagen Tuesday en route to Sweden after being deported by the Chinese authorities, a Swedish Falungong spokesman told AFP.

His deportation followed that of Swedes Petter Schiller, 32, and Christian Nilsson, 21, who left China on Monday, according to Falungong. German adherent Andre Huber also was expelled Monday.

Another protestor, thought to be American, was understood to be booked on a plane out of China Tuesday, overseas members of Falungong told AFP.

The identity of a sixth Falungong member still believed to be in Chinese detention was unclear, the movement said.

The six were taken into custody after being part of a high-profile demonstration Thursday on Tiananmen Square in the heart of the Chinese capital.

The protest against China's repression of the group involved an estimated 59 foreigners, making it the largest ever by foreign adherents inside China. The 53 others were deported Friday.

Huber left Beijing on an Austrian Airlines flight for Vienna on Monday, the German embassy said.

[...]He said Huber had no regrets about his participation in Thursday's demonstration.

The protest briefly sent the square into chaos as demonstrators unfurled banners and shouted Falungong [statements] against a Chinese ban on the movement, while police scrambled to arrest them.

The protesters were tackled to the ground and dragged into police vans. Some were physically mistreated or verbally abused after their arrest, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

China banned Falungong [...] in 1999 and has subsequently instigated a severe crackdown against the group.

http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/bq/Qchina-sect.Reh2_CFJ.html