A Chinese court yesterday jailed four people accused of organising the self-immolation of a group of alleged Falun Gong followers in Tiananmen Square last January.
The four were found guilty in a court in Beijing of "organising, masterminding, instigating and assisting" followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group to commit suicide. They were jailed for periods of between seven years and life.
News of the jailings was released through the official state news agency, Xinhua.
Foreign reporters are not allowed to cover criminal court hearings in China, but pictures of the four people being convicted in court were broadcast on state television.
A woman and her 12-year-old daughter died of their burns while two other people were severely disfigured by burning on the eve of the Chinese New Year on January 22nd.
Following the immolations, China launched a huge propaganda campaign against Falun Gong through state-controlled media, which involved showing graphic pictures of the burn victims in their hospital beds.
The movement was banned in July, 1999, after protesting outside the leaders' compound in Beijing demanding official recognition.
The Chinese authorities say the five people who set themselves on fire were deranged by their faith in Falun Gong, and claim the movement is "an evil cult".
Falun Gong has consistently denied the five involved in the self-immolations were true followers, saying its teachings do not condone suicide.
According to Xinhua, one of the four jailed yesterday was 57-year-old Liu Yunfang, from the northern province of Henan. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for printing pamphlets encouraging Falun Gong followers to commit suicide.
Wang Wang Jindong (50), also from Henan, was jailed for 15 years for helping Liu circulate the material and prepare for the self-immolation.
He was one of the five who set fire to themselves.
Xue Hongjun (49) was jailed for 10 years for encouraging the group and Liu Xiuqin (34) was given seven years for letting them stay in her home and helping them get bottles for the gasoline which they poured on themselves.
A fifth person, Liu Baorong, was found guilty of homicide for playing a minor role in the incident but was exempted from punishment because she confessed and exposed others.
Falun Gong claims more than 50,000 practitioners have since been sent to prisons, labour camps and mental hospitals.
Human rights groups allege some 200 Falun Gong followers have died from torture during detention.
In a statement yesterday, Falun Gong said authorities had refused to allow the family of a 36-year-old Falun Gong follower who died in detention to reclaim her body.
They claim that the body of Zeng Xiane was cremated without family permission at the Shayang labour camp in the central province of Hubei.