Torch protesters denied entry to Hong Kong

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Three human rights activists who planned to protest against rights violations in China during the Olympic torch relay in Hong Kong were refused entry to the city, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The three arrived on Saturday from Denmark and were questioned by immigration officials for nearly six hours before being escorted by armed police on to a London-bound flight, the South China Morning Post quoted one of the three, Jens Galschiot, as saying.

Galschiot is the Danish sculptor of the Pillar of Shame at Hong Kong University which commemorates the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

An Immigration Department spokesman said only that it had a duty to "uphold effective immigration controls", the newspaper said.

Hong Kong Security Chief Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong has said people can demonstrate peacefully during the relay as long as they exercise restraint, the report said.

The torch relay ahead of the Beijing Games in August has put China's domestic and foreign policies under the spotlight and prompted protests against its rights record as well as patriotic rallies by Chinese who criticize the West for vilifying Beijing.

The Olympic flame is due to arrive in Hong Kong on Wednesday ahead of its torch relay on Friday.

(Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by David Fogarty)