Sunday, 01-Sep-2002 9:00AM

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 1 (AFP) - Members of the spiritual group Falun Gong staged a protest at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg Sunday to call for the release of practitioners held in Chinese jails.

Four Falun Gong members meditated on yellow [...] mats under two large protest banners, one reading 'Justice for Falun Gong' and the other 'SOS! Urgent -- Rescue the Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in China,' as others handed out leaflets to passing delegates.

The peaceful protest took place outside a library that is within the sprawling venue for the Earth Summit, but outside the closely-guarded core of the zone, where political leaders are meeting.

Nancy Chen, a Falun Gong member from Australia, said Falun Gong had sent 15 activists to the Earth Summit, all of them living in countries other than China and Hong Kong, to represent the group and to lobby for detained followers.

'All the world leaders coming here should be informed about the persecution of Falun Gong in China,' she told AFP.

China officially branded Falun Gong [...] on July 22, 1999. Since then, authorities have thrown thousands of followers into labor camps or prison, with a sizeable number dying in custody, according to human rights groups.

Falun Gong's New York [information center] claim at least 200,000 followers have been detained for varying amounts of time, while more than 20,000 have been sent to 're-education through labor' camps, and 450 to prison.

More than 450 people have been confirmed as having died in police custody, while the real figure could be much higher, it says.

http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/dp/Qun-earth-china.RQor_CS1.html