National
First group of South Africans detained in China back home─── 07:36 Sat, 18 Jul 2015
Johannesburg - The first group of South Africans who were detained in China arrived back home late on Friday afternoon, Gift of the Givers confirmed.
Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman confirmed in an SMS to News24 that they had arrived.
"Yes. [The] second group are leaving tomorrow," he said.
He could not provide any further detail at this stage.
Earlier, the department of international relations and co-operation announced that the group of 10 would be returning home.
The 10 South Africans were part of a group of 20 on a 47-day tour through China. They were arrested at Erdos City’s airport on Friday morning.
Initial reports indicated that 11 members of the group were being released – five South Africans and six Britons.
The rest of the group which included five South Africans, three Britons, and one person from India, were believed to still be detained.
Department spokesperson Clayson Monyela described their release as a “victory for diplomacy”.
On Thursday, a Chinese official told news agency AFP that a group of foreigners had been detained for distributing "terrorist" materials.
