Last Updated: Wednesday, 28 January, 2004, 12:08 GMT

Four members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have filed a lawsuit in Paris against visiting Chinese Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng.

The members said Mr Sun was responsible for "crimes of torture" against the group, which is banned in China.

Mr Sun is accompanying President Hu Jintao on a state visit to France.

The plaintiffs called for him to be detained before he leaves on Thursday, saying he was guilty of "incitement to massacre and persecution".

The four, three women and a man, said they had suffered detentions and torture in connection with their practice of Falun Gong. Three of the group are Chinese, and one of them - a woman - is French.

They said Mr Sun had called through the media for the "elimination" of Falun Gong practitioners, and demanded that he be taken in for questioning.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3437041.stm