British officials held discussions with the police on Wednesday over allegations that Syrian protesters in the U.K. and their families at home have been intimidated by the country’s London embassy.
The Foreign Office said it had been made aware of claims that Syria’s embassy has had photographs taken of protesters involved in anti—regime rallies in the U.K., and that those images have been shown to demonstrators’ families in Syria in an attempt to harass them.
“We are looking into these reports and discussing them with the police. We urge anyone who’s been the subject of any intimidation to report it to the police,” said a Foreign Office spokesman, on condition of anonymity in line with policy.
Jihad Makdissi, a spokesman for Syria’s embassy in London, denied the allegations.
London’s Metropolitan police department said it had no formal complaints so far, but was aware of the allegations.
“Any such action would be wholly wrong and unacceptable. We’ve taken action in the past against diplomats whose activities were inappropriate and contrary to the interests of the U.K., and we would do so again,” said the Foreign Office spokesman.
Britain expelled two Libyan diplomats in May over allegations they were seeking to intimidate demonstrators opposed to Muammar Qadhafi.
