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British woman jailed for Tibet protest to be freed

AFP

Chinese policemen cordon off a park where they have detained pro-Tibet demonstrators in Beijing on 13 August 2008. A British woman sentenced to 10 days in a Chinese jail for a pro-Tibet protest is to be released early and deported, the British government has said.AFP/Jewel Samad/China

Mandy McKeown, 41, from the western English city of Bristol, was detained in Beijing on Thursday during a protest by the Free Tibet Society.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is in Beijing for the Olympics closing ceremony, intervened personally to secure her release, an official from his Downing Street office said.

Brown raised her case when he met Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday.

The British official said: “She will be released tomorrow. Our consul spoke to the MFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

“The MFA have taken notice of the personal interest of the prime minister.”

Small groups of foreign protesters were arrested during the Olympics, mainly for pro-Tibet demonstrations.

Copyright © 2008 Agence France-Presse

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