Washington, D.C.—Dozens of local residents gathered in front of the Russian Embassy today to protest the Russian government's deportation of a Chinese political refugee back to China. Protests have occurred also at Russian Consulates around the world.
The group called on the Russians to recant their repatriation of a member of the persecuted Falun Gong meditation group, Ma Hui, and Ma Jing, her eight-year-old daughter, which came on the eve of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to Russia. The move came on the heels of dozens of arrests of other Falun Gong practitioners, though no reports of other deportations have since arisen.
"Why do you deport people back to a Communist Party for torture and persecution?" asked Shujia Gong, 33, who lives and works in Fairfax, Virginia.
Over 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death in China, and new reports have shown that many of them have died from having their organs forcibly removed for sale and use in transplants.
"Don't think that you can give spiritual people up as an offering to a dictatorship," said Court Pearman, 30, of Washington, D.C. Pearman said he was surprised at the move, but feared the worst for Ms. Ma.
"Hopefully she won't be killed," said Pearman.
Ma, 44, is an accredited United Nations refugee and should have been accorded protection from forced repatriation. She was seized with her daughter by Russian immigration officers at their St. Petersburg home on March 27. She was awaiting a March 30 court date regarding the renewal of her status.
On March 25 and 26, nearly 30 Falun Gong practitioners were detained by Russian police officers. They had been protesting the persecution of Falun Gong in front of the Chinese Embassy in Moscow when Hu Jintao and his Chinese delegation arrived in Russia. They were allegedly detained at the behest of the Chinese delegation, who had complained about their presence.
Protesters said that they faxed and mailed letters to embassy staff members, but that they had yet to receive a reply. Li Ding, 33, of Vienna, Virginia, said that he had been trying to meet with officials at the Russian embassy for years to discuss the human rights violations of Falun Gong practitioners in China, but had been refused.
The Russian Embassy had no immediate comment on the protests.
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