Police arrested at least six members of the Falun Dafa spiritual movement in Buenos Aires on Thursday, after they led a protest against Chinese President Xi Jinping. A pregnant woman was among them.
Protesters carried signs in Chinese that read: "Welcome Xi Jingping, stop the persecution", the TN news network reported.
Police arrested the protesters for "assault and resisting arrest". Those detained reportedly tried to break through the security perimeter of the Chinese leader's hotel. President Xi Jinping arrived to Buenos Aires on Thursday evening for the G20 Leaders Summit.
"In China, our comrades are persecuted, their organs are removed, they are mistreated. It is a genocide, this is why we came", one protester told gathered media.
Falun Dafa organisers denied the protest had turned violent, instead claiming it was "a peaceful meditation to expose the genocide happening in China".
"We came to carry out a peaceful protest in front of this Chinese official to ask for an end to the persecution of practitioners of our discipline", one of the detainees said as she was escorted by police.
Falun Dafa is a spiritual practice tied to Buddhism. Chinese authorities have sought to prohibit the practice, after it surged in popularity and membership in the 1990s.
-TIMES
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