July 4, 2001

In a rare admission, China has acknowledged that members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement died in police custody. The new disclosures come just a week before Olympic organizers decide whether to award Beijing the 2008 Summer Games. With China lobbying for the Olympics over a rival bid from Toronto, authorities admit as many as 16 Falun Gong members have died in a prison camp. Civil rights groups say they were tortured to death. Chinese police say they committed mass suicide.