Members of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice outlawed by the government of China, jammed several transponders aboard APT Satellite Holdings Ltd.‘s APStar 6 satellite July 3, according to Xinhua news service.

APT, based in Hong Kong, said the jamming involved 12 counts of intentional interference against eight C-band transponders for more than one hour. The actions interrupted normal broadcasting of 13 CCTV channels and 12 provincial television channels from nine provinces.

Chen Zhaobin, executive director and president of APT Satellite Group, condemned the action at a press conference July 4. “The illegal jamming of APStar 6 by Falun Gong, which has publicly stomped on the international telecommunication conventions and internationally accepted practices, is a challenge to the international community,” he said.

He called for the government “to seriously punish the criminals. We also appeal to the international community to strongly denounce such illegal acts,” he said.