HONG KONG - Falun Gong practitioners arrested during a protest outside the Chinese government liaison office here fought back by kicking and grabbing the necks of authorities, a police officer testified Friday.
In Hong Kong's first criminal case against followers of Falun Gong, policewoman Ho Yuen-ting said she suffered bruises to her legs after being kicked by one or more of the practitioners who were being arrested March 14 for alleged public obstruction.
The case against 16 Falun Gong followers, including four Swiss, began Monday and has stirred worries among human rights activists that Hong Kong is clamping down on the meditation sect, which is banned as an "evil cult" in mainland China.
Falun Gong calls the public obstruction allegation a trumped-up charge that conceals the real intent of stopping the protest outside the Chinese office.
After the Falun Gong followers were taken to a police briefing room, they protested their innocence and some unfurled a banner urging Chinese President Jiang Zemin to "stop killing" sect members in mainland China, according to a video played Friday by the prosecution.
On the video, Falun Gong follower Lau Wai-hing tells police the group did nothing wrong.
"Please use your brain to think what's the definition of obstructing the streets," Lau said. "We have done nothing wrong," she said.