China Police Beat Two Japanese Journalists After Attack in Xinjiang

By Stuart Biggs, The Bloomberg, Aug. 5, 2008-

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) — Two Japanese journalists were detained and beaten by Chinese police as they covered an attack on policemen in the western province of Xinjiang, China, Kyodo English News reported today, citing the journalists’ employers.

Masami Kawakita, 38, a photographer from the Chunichi newspaper, and Shinji Katsuta, 37, a Nippon Television Network Corp. reporter, suffered light injuries, Kyodo said. The two were taken inside a hotel and beaten before being released two hours later, the report said.

The two journalists were covering an attack which left 16 policemen dead in the city of Kashi, or Kashgar, yesterday, the report said. Chinese police said it detained two men after the attack, both of whom are members of the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority group, Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.

China has said domestic terror groups pose one of the greatest threats to the Beijing Olympics to run from Aug. 8-24. The Chinese government is using the threat of terrorism to clamp down on minority groups including the Uyghurs, some of whom want to establish independence, human rights groups say.

- Original from Bloomberg: China Police Beat Japanese Journalists After Attack, Kyodo Says