February 15, 2002, Friday

Frankfurt

Seven German members of the Falun Gong movement arrived in Frankfurt on Friday after being deported from China.

The four men and three women were arrested together with other foreigners as they staged protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on Thursday. China's state media said 53 Western Falun Gong members were deported after being detained in Tiananmen Square.

The protest was the largest in China by foreign Falun Gong members and follows a similar one last November, when 35 foreign Falun Gong members were arrested and deported.

One Dutch national and a German national were said still to be under arrest in Beijing. But other reports say the number of foreigners being held is higher.

The group is banned in China. It claims more than 350 followers have died from police brutality and thousands have been sent to labour camps without trial.

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