2/14/2002 [  http://www.faluninfo.net/ ]

Among four British Falun Gong practitioners arrested yesterday in Beijing are two from the East Midlands.

The East Midlands practitioners who were arrested are: Lee Hall, 21, an English student at Loughborough University and Rosemary Katzen, 42, from Leicester -- a senior tutor with LET Training Services. Also arrested were Earl Rhodes, 36, a BBC cameraman; and Robert Gibson, 70, a retired osteopath. The practitioners have told us that the Chinese police have stolen walkmans, CDs, tapes, a fleece, books and even bus tickets from them!

The four British Falun Gong practitioners who were arrested yesterday (before today's peaceful appeal events at TianAnMen Square) in Beijing arrive at London's Heathrow airport (Terminal 4) today on BA038 after being deported from China.

A total of 14 European Falun Gong practitioners were taken into custody by force after Chinese police broke into their hotel rooms. One woman from the U.K., Rosemary Katzen age 42, was grabbed by the hair and dragged during the raid, losing a large clump of hair. 20 more practitioners are believed to have been arrested today during a peaceful appeal they made on Tiananmen Square.

There is no reason for the police to arrest these practitioners who were completely peaceful and have not broken any of the laws of China.

UK practitioners will gather at the airport to welcome them back. A press conference will be held in the arrivals area at Terminal 4 Heathrow at 4.30 pm.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Peter Jauhal on 07712 197567 or + 44 20 8332 6313 or visit the websites  http://www.clearharmony.net,  http://www.faluninfo.net



The following is a related report :

Falun Gong Practitioners Stage Large International Appeal on Tiananmen
Square to End Persecution in China

Largest Presence of Chinese Police "in Recent Memory" on Tiananmen
Square in Anticipation of Demonstration

"We go to Tiananmen Square in the hopes that our peaceful appeal will
bring an end to the torture and murder of innocent people..."

NEW YORK, February 14th, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) -
According to eyewitnesses, approximately 30-40 western practitioners
from around the world staged a peaceful appeal on Tiananmen Square in
Beijing today to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong
practitioners in China.

At approximately 2:00 PM Beijing time, three or four small groups of
western practitioners unfurled banners and called out "Falun Dafa is
Good" in Chinese. Some ran through the square, chased by Chinese police
who tackled them to the ground. Each group's demonstration occurred
approximately 3 or 4 minutes apart. Among the demonstrators were 7 from
Germany. The entire demonstration lasted approximately 15-20 minutes,
according to witnesses.

One reporter said 5 or 6 police vans were used to take the demonstrators
off the Square. Several reporters who witnessed the event described the
arrests of the westerners by police as "very brutal," including violent
kicking, dragging, and throwing practitioners into police vans.

Earlier in the day, 14 European Falun Gong practitioners were taken into
custody by force after Chinese police broke into their hotel rooms. One
woman from the U.K., Rosemary Katzen age 42, was grabbed by the hair and
dragged during the raid, losing a large clump of hair.

"As Western practitioners we go to Tiananmen Square in the hopes that
our peaceful appeal will bring an end to the torture and murder of
innocent people and help to awaken a society that is being torn apart by
lies and deceit" one westerner explained before embarking on his trip to
Beijing. "Falun Gong is not a China issue. Falun Gong is an
international issue. We won't stop until the killing stops."

_____

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER-
Contacts: Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Adam Montanaro 917-405-4507, Erping
Zhang 646-533-6147, or Feng Yuan 646-523-5676. Email:
 faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website:  http://www.faluninfo.net/
Irish Contacts: Gerald O'Connor 086 3556180; Dai Dongxue 087 9596370;
Email:  info-ie@falundafa.nu