ZURICH, Aug 25 (AFP) - Four Swiss members of the Falungong movement, which is banned in China, have returned home after being convicted in Hong Kong for taking part in an anti-[Jiang Zemin] demonstration, ATS press agency said.
The four were among 16 members -- who also included 11 people from Hong Kong and one New Zealander -- convicted in Hong Kong earlier this month for causing public obstruction at an anti-Beijing protest in March.
A judicial spokesman in Hong Kong said last week that the fines for all 16 had been paid and that they would not have to serve jail sentences of up to two weeks.
The case marked the first time criminal charges were brought in Hong Kong against members of the Falungong, which is legal in the former British colony but banned [..] in mainland China.
Hong Kong is supposed to have a degree of autonomy from Beijing, and the case was seen as a test of the independence of its judicial system.
The Falungong says that since its banning in 1999, tens of thousands of its followers have been jailed or sent to labor camps in mainland China. It also alleges that hundreds of its followers have died in police detention.
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cl/Qhongkong-sect-swiss.RDoM_CaP.html
* * *
You are welcome to print and circulate all articles published on Clearharmony and their content, but please quote the source.
more ...