LONDON (Reuters) - A senior Chinese official has denied that members of the outlawed Falun Gong religious group have died in detention as a result of maltreatment or torture by Chinese authorities.
In an interview to be broadcast Friday, the Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington, Zhang Yuan-yuan, said those group members who had died in detention were old, sick or committed suicide.
"People died in detention, that's true," he told BBC World Service radio. "I can confirm that Falun Gong followers died in detention. But you have to ask how they died. So there are some who are old, sick and they commit suicide.
"They throw themselves against the wall and got themselves fatally injured and they refuse to eat, refused to take medicine, refused medical attention and people also died of natural causes," he said.
In a fresh attack on the Falun Gong Monday, China's Communist Party vowed to "fight the war to the end" against the outlawed spiritual group.
The remarks were part of a public relations campaign that began last month after five people tried to set themselves on fire. China says the five were sect members.
Falun Gong members have protested almost daily in Beijing's Tiananmen Square since the movement was outlawed in 1999 and China's often harsh treatment of protesters has provoked widespread international concern.
Human rights groups say more than 100 Falun Gong followers have died of police beatings and other abuse, while the sect says tens of thousands of its mainland members have been sent to labor camps without trial.
In his interview, Zhang said Chinese policy was to try to change the outlook of Falun Gong members.
"We have never denied that some people did indeed die during detention. Why detention?
"Because these people violate the law even though we try to change their minds and their outlook and try to bring them around. We still have to uphold the law of the land. If they break the law we have to do something about it," he said.