By Britt Ledberg

Aftonbladet /TT (210202)

MALMÖ/KASTRUP

Monday, 21-year-old Falun Gong practitioner Christian Nilsson got off the flight, [...looking] tired after three days and nights under arrest by the Chinese police.

Christian Nilsson was arrested Thursday on the way from his hotel to a Falun Gong demonstration in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

"Nobody told us why we were arrested, we were pulled into a car rather violently and brought to a place where we were interrogated," says Christian Nilsson from Lund.

"I was pushed down to the floor and then they trampled on me. Others amongst us got beaten."  

It took until Sunday before he and the other two arrested Swedes were allowed to contact the Swedish Embassy.  

"The police totally ignored our requests. I got the feeling they wanted to send us home to Sweden without the Embassy knowing anything of what had happened," says Christian Nilsson.

During the three days and nights, he shared a cell with nine others.

(...)

"Most of us were travelling to China to support Falun Gong practitioners there. It's also about drawing the world's attention to the fact that China violates human rights when Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted," says Janette Wästilä, one of those in the reception committee at the airport who had contact with Christian Nilsson during his flight home.

More Westerners
When the Swedish Falun Gong [practitioners] heard about the police raid in Tiananmen Square Thursday they contacted the Foreign Ministry [UD] to check if Swedes were among those arrested.

The UD hadn't heard anything at that time, thus it took three days and nights before the [Swedish] Embassy in Beijing got in contact with those arrested," says Mimmi Svensson from the Swedish Falun Gong movement in Varberg.

(...)

Posting date: 2/22/2002
Original article date: 2/22/2002
Category: News & Media Reports

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