The Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe has dismissed criticism of his rule in response to accusations of mistreatment of opposition political leaders.
Mr Mugabe said Western critics of his rule could 'go hang'.
Opposition officials say police tortured Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai and several other opposition and civic group leaders on Sunday when they tried to attend a prayer vigil in a Harare township.
But the government has suggested Tsvangirai and his group resisted arrest and upped the ante, accusing opposition supporters of waging a militia-style campaign of violence to topple Mugabe from power.
The US dismissed Mugabe's comments as an attempt to paint himself as a victim, and Britain said it was trying to press the UN and EU for tough reprisals against Harare for its crackdown on the opposition.
ODC leader Morgan Tsvangirai is still in hospital following the beatings he recieved in polioce custody.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, condemned the police actions at the rally in the Zimbabwean capital last Sunday.
In a statement last night, Mr Ahern said he was shocked at the severe injuries that the opposition leaders and demonstrators sustained in custody, and he sympathised with the family of the individual who was killed.
The Minister said the Zimbabwean government must cease suppressing the basic fundamental rights of its people.
