China Detains Dozens After Sect Trial
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BEIJING — Police questioned and detained several dozen people in heavily guarded Tiananmen Square on Monday, one day after authorities sentenced four alleged ringleaders of the Falun Gong meditation group to up to 18 years in prison.
About five people attempted to raise a banner in protest but were quickly stopped by uniformed and plainclothes police stationed in the square, the site of frequent protests by the group since the Communist government outlawed it five months ago.
Police questioned many other visitors to the square and led several dozen into police vans.
Security also was tight during Sunday’s one-day trial, the most significant case against the group since the ban was announced. Some onlookers at the courthouse and in Tiananmen Square were carted off by police.
Falun Gong combines meditation exercises with Buddhism and Taoism to promote well-being.
The government has decreed Falun Gong a public menace and views the group as a threat to its rule of the world’s most populous country.
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