Seven Bulgarians Arrested in Belgrade for Intending to Stage Protest

Seven Bulgarian citizens were arrested on Monday evening in Belgrade, said Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry, quoted by the BNT public broadcaster.

They are followers of the Chinese Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) spiritual movement and were intending to protest against the violations of human rights in China.

According to the BGNES wire service the protest was supposed to take place during the international economic summit in the Serbian capital on Tuesday.

The summit unites China and countries from Central and Eastern Europe for a third year in a row.

The group of seven Bulgarians and two Russians detained on Monday was reportedly organizing a protest against Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.

According to reports from the Bulgarian National Radio, they had submitted numerous requests to hold a demonstration which had however been turned down.

A member of Falun Dafa's Bulgarian branch quotes Serbia's Interior Minister as saying those detained will remain in custody until Thursday, when the summit comes to an end.

Belgrade police have beefed up security due to the international event, with 10 000 officers being in charge of security.