China says deported tourists admitted watching terror video

Beijing

Chinese police say that foreign tourists detained and later deported from northern China "admitted" to watching videos advocating terrorism, state-media reported Sunday  something a member of the tour group strongly denied.

The brief report by the Xinhua news agency is the most detailed official explanation provided regarding the detentions of the mostly British and South African tourists last week.

Police in China's Inner Mongolia region told Xinhua that the tourists "first watched a documentary in a hotel room. After some of them left, the rest proceeded to watch video clips advocating terrorism".

They added that police seized "similar" videos "from a mobile phone belonging to Hoosain Ismail Jacobs, a South African national".

Xinhua said that nine of the foreigners five South Africans, three British and one Indian were held on suspicion of "organising, leading or joining terrorist groups".

All of the nine "admitted to their illegal acts and repented" before police imposed a "lenient sentence," of deportation, Xinhua said.

Jacobs late Sunday denied that he or any other members of the tour group had admitted to anything.

"Nobody repented or admitted to anything whatsoever, as there was no crime to repent or admit to, and no charges of any type were laid whatsoever," Jacobs said in a statement.

“I give an assurance that there was nothing like that and nothing was watched from anyone's cell phone.

"The only things watched by myself and the group was a short clip of the 10 best western cowboy films of all time and a 40-minute BBC documentary on Genghis Khan," he said, adding that those were watched from a laptop.

A total of 20 visitors from South Africa, Britain and India were held at Ordos airport in China's Inner Mongolia region on Friday last week, sparking diplomatic concern.