11 britons among 20 tourists arrested in China 'for no reason'
Twenty tourists were on a 47-day tour of Inner Mongolia in northern China when they suddenly got arrested last Friday (July 10).
Confusion now surrounds this case because no official reason has been given for the arrest.
The Guardian reported that diplomats have been asking for information from the Chinese authorities about the tourists. Among the group are 11 Britons, 10 South Africans and one Indian national.
South African disaster relief organisation Gift Of Givers posted a statement on their Facebook page saying: "No reasons were given for the arrest, cellphones were confiscated, there was no access to the embassies of origin nor to their families.
“They were detained without charge with no access to any communication nor to legal representation.”
The tour operator realised that something was amiss last Sunday (July 12) after they discovered that the tourists had not continued on their tour.
The South China Morning Post reported that the group said the Chinese had suggested some members of the tour were linked to a terrorist group and had been watching “propaganda videos” in their hotel room.
So far, 11 of the 20 of them have been released and flights out of China are being booked for them.
The nine remaining - of which three are British, five are South Africans and an Indian - are still being held without charge at the detention centre.
Source: The Guardian and South China Morning Post
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now