Want... Members of a South African non-governmental organization have become the unlikely targets of China's anti-terrorism campaign, reports the Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily. The group of 20, from the Gift of the Givers Foundation, were arrested last Friday morning at Ordos Airport in Inner Mongolia during a 47-day sightseeing trip.
Six British and five South African nationals have since been released, while another three Britons, two South Africans, two with dual British-South African citizenship, and an Indian national, remain in police custody. It is believed official charges will soon be made against them.
The arrests were not made public until the tour company made it public that the group had diverted from their itinerary.
Reports indicate that the group were detained in cells over the weekend, during which they were prohibited from contacting their national embassies in China, family members or legal representatives. Their mobile phones were also confiscated.
The group was reportedly told that they are suspected of having links to a terror group and that at least one of them had watched terrorist propaganda films in their hotel rooms. A relative of one of the detainees told reporters that the group had watched a Genghis Khan documentary a few nights ago and are baffled as to why they have been detained.
Gift of the Givers insisted on its Facebook page that none of the members of their foundation who were arrested have terror links or criminal records in their own country.
"The Chinese must be told in no uncertain terms to provide the evidence and proof if the South Africans have terror links, charge them and take them to trial. Alternatively, they must release them immediately and unconditionally," a subsequent Facebook post said, adding that the the conditions in the detention center are "not good."
The foundation has called upon Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African deputy president currently on a state visit to China, to raise the issue with "the highest authority in China."
Those identified as being in the group include medical doctors Feroz Suliman and Shehnaaz Mohamed and the uncle, aunt and brother of Shameel Joosub, the CEO of African mobile communications company Vodacom. Another unnamed member is said to be a veteran of MK, the armed wing of the African National Congress, co-founded by Nelson Mandela.