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Zimbabwe embassy protesters held | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
Protesters who barricaded themselves inside the Zimbabwean embassy in London have been arrested. | |
Ten members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) were removed by police from the building in the Strand on Wednesday. | |
They were protesting at claims MDC members had been violently repressed by the regime of President Mugabe. | |
Police said seven men and three woman were being held on suspicion of trespassing on diplomatic premises. | |
Posing as people wanting to renew their passports, the group gained access to the building before demanding to meet the ambassador. | |
Activists wanted to hand him a petition, signed by Zimbabweans living in Britain, calling for an end to the arrest and torture of opposition supporters. | |
Legitimate protest | |
MDC UK chairman Ephraim Tapa accused British police of depriving the demonstrators of their right to protest. | |
He said: "We don't understand. We have not caused any harm to anybody, we are not causing any violence, we have not destroyed property. | |
"We are just here to express ourselves and our feelings, and for doing that we are threatened here." | |
A spokesman for the Zimbabwean Embassy said business had continued as normal during the protest. | |
He said the campaigners' claims about the Mugabe regime were being dealt with by the police. | |
Last week about 300 demonstrators from the MDC gathered outside the Zimbabwean Embassy in London calling for an end to President Mugabe's rule. |