Seven Falun Gong members detained in Shenzhen, including four from Hong Kong, could be released by the end of the week, a colleague said yesterday.The seven women and a seven-year-old boy were arrested last week on their way to Beijing to stage a protest outside the National People's Congress. They were caught in Shenzhen, which they illegally entered by speedboat.

Three of the women are Australian. The group is being held at Shenzhen's Yantian police station. The boy, Lee Chi-lan, was released and returned to Hong Kong.Falun Gong spokeswoman in Hong Kong, Belinda Pang San-san, said the seven were likely to be detained for the duration of the congress, due to end this week. "I think the authorities want to play it safe and keep them until the congress is over. At least that's what we hope," she said. All seven had been arrested previously, deported and could not legally enter the mainland. A Yantian officer would only confirm the arrests.

Their long detention - sect members from overseas are usually quickly released - has raised fears they might be charged and used as an example to others. "It's a politically sensitive time in China and who knows what the authorities might do," said Frank Lu Siqing, spokesman for the Information Centre of Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China.

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