HONG KONG (AP) -- Prosecutors brought stiffer charges against a group of Falun Gong followers arrested after a demonstration in Hong Kong as the territory's first criminal trial against the meditation sect opened Monday.
Sixteen followers, including four Swiss citizens, are being tried in connection with a sidewalk protest in March outside a government building.
The case has raised concerns that Hong Kong is slowly squeezing freedoms guaranteed to its citizens after its reversion to Chinese sovereignty five years ago. Falun Gong is legal in the former British colony but banned as an "evil sect" in mainland China.
On the first day of the high-profile trial, prosecutors accused six of the defendants of obstructing police who tried to move them away from the entrance of the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong on March 14.
Three of the defendants had already been charged with that crime, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison. The nine are all Hong Kong Chinese.
The 16 Falun Gong followers who participated in the demonstration have all been charged with two counts of the lesser offence of obstructing the public, for which they could face three months in prison or a fine.
Prosecutor Robert Lee said in his opening statement that police repeatedly asked the demonstrators to step away from the entrance of the liaison office before scuffles broke out.
Four defendants are also accused of assaulting police officers who broke up the protest on March 14. The scuffle caused minor injuries to seven officers and nine demonstrators, the prosecutor said.
Rights activists have expressed fears that Hong Kong is slowly cracking down on Falun Gong and free expression, even though western-style liberties were guaranteed for at least 50 years when the territory was returned to China in 1997.
Hong Kong officials have denied that they were trying to stifle Falun Gong's message, insisting they were only trying to maintain public order.