"As a way of telling the police you can help, the site is a welcome alternative to hanging behind at the scene, standing around at a police station or waiting in line at a call centre, " said the charity's director Guy Dehn.

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But at 11:15, police got a 911 call that the station was unmanned.

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The police took her to the police station, where she was kept for three hours before being allowed to call Romanyuk.

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Later, when he tried to make a phone call from a police station in Tehran, Athanasiadis said security forces tackled him, threw him to the ground, beat him with a club and pepper-sprayed him.

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