The Falun Gong religious movement is banned in China
Four Britons have reportedly been deported from China for supporting the banned Falun Gong religious movement. Falun Gong sources said the four had been arrested in their Beijing hotel, taken away for several hours of questioning and then put on a plane back to Heathrow, where they would arrive later on Thursday.
Falun Gong in the UK named the four as Lee Hall, 21, a student; Earl Rhodes, 36, a cameraman; Rosemary Katzen, 42, a tutor; and Robert Gibson, 70, a retired osteopath.
Suspected Falun Gong members are often arrested
It said they were part of a group of 14 Westerners travelling peacefully in the country, who had been rounded up.
The Foreign Office said it was aware of the reports and was in contact with the authorities in Beijing to clarify the situation.
On Thursday afternoon, a group of up to 40 Westerners were arrested in Tiananmen Square after unfurling a yellow banner and yelling "Falun Gong is good!"
'Manhandling'
Falun Gong's British spokesman Peter Jauhal told BBC News Online the four Britons had been travelling as tourists, had not been involved in any protests, and had not broken any laws.
He said about 50 police had burst into their hotel on Tuesday night, pulling them out of their rooms "with a certain amount of manhandling".
Several Westerners have been arrested and deported
He said the four, who had been travelling together, were taken to a hotel near the airport and questioned for about eight or nine hours before being put on the plane.
He suggested that police agents had suspected the four may have been planning to demonstrate, and arrested them as a preventative measure.
He did not know whether the four had in fact planned any kind of demonstration.
Falun Gong later added: "The practitioners have told us that the Chinese police have stolen walkmans, CDs, tapes, a fleece, books and even bus tickets from them."
Torture claim
Falun Gong, which claims millions of followers around the world, teaches meditation and exercises loosely based on Buddhism and Taoism.
It says it is a peaceful law-abiding group, whose goals are spiritual enlightenment and improved health.
The authorities in China, who banned the group in 1999, say it is an "evil cult" that is trying to overthrow the Communist Party.
Since the ban the police have rounded up tens of thousands of practitioners. Many have been sent to prison without trial - a form of punishment known as "re-education through labour".
There have also been several incidents when Westerners have been expelled and deported after protesting in support of the group.
Falun Gong issued a series of statements last year accusing Chinese officials of torturing or killing dozens of practitioners in detention centres and labour camps.