Police rounded up more than 300 people from a squatter area in southern Beijing where petitioners from all over China have been staying as a key Communist Party meeting convened for a third day yesterday, witnesses said.
Police raided the so-called "petition village" at about 4am, hacking down doors and smashing windows, one witness told reporters.
Many of those gathered at the village are trying to bring their grievances to national leaders engaged in the four-day meeting.
Some 198 top party officials are meeting with hundreds of "leading cadres" in closed-door talks at the fourth plenum of the Communist Party's Central Committee.
"They went round all the houses to arrest people and then they loaded them into three buses," the petitioner said. "The buses were absolutely packed."
The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she narrowly escaped arrest by hiding under her bed. Others ran out of the houses in their pajamas.
"We're only fighting for justice, why are they treating us like criminals?" she asked.
"One of these days I'll be arrested too, since I can't hide under the bed every night."
Many other protesters were picked up by police on their way to Tiananmen Square, where they had planned to hold a 10,000-person demonstration to protest the government's refusal to handle their complaints.
One of the protest organizers, Ye Guozhu, was arrested on Aug. 27 after filing an application to hold the rally.
Other organizers, who have been under constant surveillance, were barred from leaving their homes yesterday by police officers. Ni Yulan told reporters that she was dragged back into her home when as she tried to leave for the protest.
"They threatened to take me to the police station and detain me," Ni said.
Beijing's Public Security Bureau refused to comment yesterday.
Petitioners from all over China -- many of whom have suffered injustice at the hands of corrupt officials -- have traditionally headed to Beijing before major national events to try and make their voices heard.
One rights group has estimated that about 36,000 petitioners who came to Beijing to air their grievances ahead of the plenum have been detained.
Petitioners who spoke to reporters earlier said the frequency of the arrests and the level of brutality in detention was unprecedented this year.
When commenting on the plenum meeting, state media said the party must be more accountable to the people, strengthen the rule of law and pay more attention to public welfare to strengthen its governance.
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