700 Bhutto Supporters Arrested

Bhutto claims 'thousands' of activists have been arrested
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2007 5:45 AM CST
700 Bhutto Supporters Arrested
Unidentified Pakistani protesters flash victory signs from a police lock-up facilit, after they were arrested for protesting against Pakistan's military ruler President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in Multan, Pakistan, on Wednesday, Nov 7, 2007. Police swung batons and fired tear gas at supporters of former...   (Associated Press)

More than 700 supporters of opposition leader Benazar Bhutto were arrested overnight, her party claims, in anticipation of a mass rally planned for tomorrow in Rawalpindi to protest emergency rule in Pakistan. In Karachi, five people arrested earlier were charged with treason for making speeches critical of the government; if convicted they would face a death sentence.

Until yesterday anti-government protests have been led by lawyers, enraged by the suspension of the constitution and the house arrest of the country's chief justice. But Bhutto's vow to hold a rally tomorrow and a mass  "long march" next week has emboldened her supporters: 400 of them faced down tear gas at a protest outside the parliament buildings yesterday. (More Pakistan stories.)

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