HONG KONG, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Hundreds of journalists gathered in Hong Kong Sunday to protest the government's alleged beating of three colleagues in China's Xinjiang region, officials said.
An estimated 700 journalists dressed in black held signs calling for the government to apologize to TVB reporter Lam Tsz-ho, his cameraman Lau Wing-chuen and Now TV cameraman Lam Chun-wai, Radio France Internationale reported.
The three said they were detained and beaten while covering reports of syringe attacks in Urumqi in China's ethnic Uighur region. A spokesman for the Xinjiang government said the journalists incited unrest, but added the government regretted the incident, RFI said.
Mak Yin-ting, head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, said many reporters have been beaten throughout China during the last year.
"The situation is getting worse now," she said.
Three people were sentenced Saturday for the attacks in Urumqi during which hundreds of people were stabbed with hypodermic needles. The stabbings sparked a series of protests demanding the government take action. The unrest left at least five people dead and 14 injured.
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