AP: Falun Gong Followers Cite Beatings

Tuesday, February 19, 2002

STOCKHOLM, Sweden –– Two Swedish followers of Falun Gong who were expelled from China said Tuesday they were beaten by police in Beijing and denied contact with their embassy for several days.

Petter Schiller, 33, and Christian Nilsson, 21, were among Western followers of the meditation group who staged an appeal on Tiananmen Square last Thursday.

They were trying to draw attention to China's 2½-year-old crackdown on Falun Gong… China
banned it in 1999 as a threat …

The two Swedes said they were stopped by Chinese officers before they could unfurl Falun Gong banners they were carrying in their pockets. The officers forced them into police cars and drove them to a prison for questioning, they said.

"I have experienced how cruel this persecution is. It's one thing to read about it and another to be
there and understand that what you read is happening for real," Schiller told reporters in the Swedish capital.

A police officer kicked his leg and tried to intimidate him when he insisted on speaking to Swedish
Embassy officials, Schiller said. Nilsson said he was beaten and his clothes were ripped when officers pulled him off the square.

Chinese police reported they detained 59 foreigners during Thursday's demonstration. Most of the foreigners were expelled last week, but a few were kept for questioning because they weren't carrying passports.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33345-2002Feb19.html