LONDON, Dec 21 (AFP)  Fifty Kurdish demonstrators who seized control of the London
 Eye, a massive Ferris wheel in central London, were charged Thursday with threatening to
 cause criminal damage, police said.

 The group, who were protesting at a crackdown on prisoners in Turkey, gave themselves up to
 police Wednesday evening.

 A further 12 Kurds arrested inside the European Commission building in central London
 Wednesday have been charged with trespassing on diplomatic premises, a police spokesman
 said.

 One protestor on the London Eye, communicating by mobile phone, had claimed that one man
 in each of the two hijacked gondolas had doused himself in petrol and was prepared to set
 himself on fire.

 However, police said afterwards they found no evidence of petrol.

 Both sets of demonstrators aimed to highlight the Turkish government's crackdown on
 hunger-striking prisoners Tuesday in which 20 prisoners and two soldiers are reported to have
 died.

 The Ferris wheel, operated by airline British Airways, is a hugely popular tourist attraction,
 which affords panoramic views over London.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com

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