A group of Finnish Parliamentarians sent an appeal to the Chinese President on Thursday calling on the country's Government to end its suppression of the Falun Gong movement, as well as other violations of human rights.

The Chinese government firmly denies that Falun Gong practitioners are being tortured. Ms. Yuzhi Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner who was incarcerated in Wanjia Forced Labour Camp and was rescued from the United Arab Emirates by the Canadian government, exposed the persecution facts to this Voice of America correspondent.

It said two of those detained for Internet-related offenses, both of whom were members of the outlawed Falun Gong movement, died in custody -- apparently as a result of police torture or ill-treatment.

The London-based human rights organization detailed the cases of at least 33 people who have been detained or imprisoned for offences related to their use of the Internet. They ranged from political activists and writers to members of unofficial organizations, including the Falun Gong spiritual movement, Amnesty said.

US ambassador to China Clark Randt vowed Monday to bring China to task over its dismal human rights record, despite a recent warming trend between Beijing and Washington. The US diplomat also demanded substantive results from a December 16 US-China dialogue on human rights in Beijing.