BEIJING (AFP) — The United States on Saturday urged China to release immediately eight American nationals detained after pro-Tibet protests in Beijing during the Olympic Games.
"We have asked for their immediate release and are continuing to follow their cases closely," embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson told AFP.
She said US officials had met with the eight pro-Tibet activists who had not complained of ill-treatment during their detention.
"The US government encourages the government of China to demonstrate respect for human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion of all people during the Olympic Games," Stevenson said.
"We are disappointed that China has not used the occasion of the Olympics to demonstrate greater tolerance and openness."
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman declined to comment.
Beijing police said earlier this week that 10-day detention terms were handed out to six foreigners for "upsetting public order" after a small pro-Tibet protest on Tuesday.
Two other Americans were detained at a separate protest on Thursday near the Olympic area, along with a German national and a Briton.
The British foreign ministry said Friday the British woman, 41-year-old Mandie McKeown, would be deported to on August 31 after serving a 10-day detention.
No-one was immediately available for comment at the German embassy.
At least eight pro-Tibet stunts and small-scale protests have taken place in Beijing since early August, despite tight security.
The authorities expelled foreign activists within a day or two after the early protests, but this week they appeared to change tack by announcing punishments of 10 days in detention.
The six US nationals arrested on Tuesday were James Powderly, Brian Conley, Jeffrey Rae, Jeff Goldin, Michael Liss and Tom Grant, Stevenson said.
The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said earlier Rae and Conley were citizen-journalists. Conley is the founder of the aliveinbaghdad.org video blog, which chronicles daily life in Iraq.
The two detained at Thursday's protest were Jeremy Wells and John Watterberg, Stevenson added.
Beijing announced the setting up of three protest zones in parks around the city for the duration of the Games, but no protests have been given the necessary permission by city authorities to take place.
China's 57-year rule of Tibet has been under the spotlight this year and had been particularly sensitive for the Chinese government in the lead up to the Olympics.
Pro-Tibetan groups argue that China runs a brutal regime in the region and has suppressed Tibetan culture.
Violent protests against Chinese rule broke out across Tibet in March, sparking a heavy Chinese crackdown on the Himalayan region that has drawn global condemnation.
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