Falun Gong members have called on the Irish Government to request the release of Mr Zhao Ming, a graduate student of Trinity College Dublin, who, it is claimed, is being detained in China.
They say Mr Zhao, who was doing a master's programme in TCD Computer Department, was arrested in China during his Christmas break in 1999 for protesting to the Chinese government over its treatment of Falun Gong members.
Falun Gong is aform of meditation with over 100 million practitioners in China.According to Ms Dai Dongxue, a representative of the Falun Gong Irish group, it is seen by the Chinese leadership as containing Western and anti-government tendencies.
Ms Dai says Mr Zhao is being held in the Tuan He Farm Labour Camp near Beijing since May 2000 and claims he has been systematically tortured.
In response to the Irish Falun Group's request for help from the Government, Ms Dai told ireland.com,the Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is unable to help because it has "no consular function in this matter" as Mr Zhao is not an Irish national.
"We hope that the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs [Mr Brian Cowen] will be able to raise the matter during his visit to China later this month," Ms Dai said
"Falun Gong is not a religion, nor is it a political party," Ms Dai said. "What is at issue here is not pro- or anti-Chinese politics but basic issues of fundamental human rights."
ireland.comwas unable to contact the Chinese embassy for comment on these allegations.