The BBC says certainly one of its journalists was “beaten and kicked by police” after masking protests in opposition to COVID lockdowns in Shanghai.
The company mentioned Ed Lawrence was working as an “accredited journalist” when he was “attacked, arrested and handcuffed”.
Footage on social media confirmed him being dragged to the bottom in handcuffs, whereas in one other video, he was seen saying: “Call the consulate now.”
According to officers, Mr Lawrence was arrested “for his own good” in case he caught coronavirus from the group, the BBC mentioned.
The broadcaster added: “We do not consider this a credible explanation.”
A spokesperson mentioned: “The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai.
“He was held for a number of hours earlier than being launched. During his arrest he was crushed and kicked by police.”
They added: “This occurred whereas he was working as an accredited journalist.
“It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whist carrying out his duties.”
Mr Lawrence has been in contact with the Foreign Office.
People protesting in opposition to China’s strict COVID lockdowns returned to the streets of Shanghai regardless of being forcibly eliminated by police utilizing pepper spray only some hours earlier.
In what Amnesty International described as a transfer of “remarkable bravery”, folks objecting to the persevering with confinement of tens of millions of individuals – for weeks at a time – gathered once more on the identical spot.
Their anger was ignited by a fireplace within the metropolis of Urumqi on Thursday which killed at the very least 10 folks.
Source: information.sky.com”