Brian Coleman, a member of the Greater London Assembly, has signed a petition calling on the Hong Kong authority to stop the politically motivated trial of Falun Gong practitioners in Hong Kong.

The petition states:

A matter of very serious concern has come to my attention and this is why I write to you now.

International media have reported that on 14 March Hong Kong police detained 16 Falun Gong practitioners, including four Swiss nationals, as they held a peaceful public vigil in front of the Chinese liaison office to raise awareness of Beijing's persecution of Falun Gong. Soon afterwards the practitioners were charged, for the first time in Hong Kong, with causing obstruction, which has reportedly been widely regarded as resulting from political pressure from China.

I was told that during the arrests police resorted to tactics such as strangling elderly women, thumbing painful acupressure points, and pulling hair, and that nine Falun Gong practitioners sustained minor injuries.

International media have reported a string of incidents that indicate an alarming erosion of civil liberties and freedoms in Hong Kong. ...

What is of even greater concern is that the HKSAR government is pushing ahead with the "subversion" law, which could be used to further suppress dissent. The Economist on 18 April reported that the "subversion" law was now in draft form.

The unprecedented developments, particularly those targeted at peaceful Falun Gong demonstrators, are a very serious concern for me, and damaging to Hong Kong's reputation in the international community.

I urge the HKSAR government to investigate the alleged human rights abuses and drop the charges against Falun Gong practitioners.