VIDEO | A BBC journalist was beaten and arrested during the protests in China
Chinese police beat and arrested journalist on "the bbc who was covering the anti-coronavirus protests in Shanghai, but he was released from custody after several hours, his media outlet reported. The incident was recorded.
"The BBC is extremely concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested while covering the protests in Shanghai," a spokesman for the British public broadcaster said in a statement. "He was detained for several hours. During the arrest, the police beat and kicked him. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist," added the spokesperson.
Witnessed a BBC journalist got besieged and dragged to the ground by several cops in Shanghai earlier tonight on the Urumqi Rd. His friend said he was targeted because he was filming the protest. (feel free to @ his handle if you know who this journalist is) @BBC News @BBCNewsAsia pic.twitter.com/tPgoPET3hg
— Shanghaishanghai (@Shanghaishang10) November 27, 2022
Shanghai is one of many Chinese cities protesting the strict restrictions due to covid-19. The protests spread after a building caught fire in Urumqi in the west of the country, and its residents could not escape the fire due to strict measures, in which ten people lost their lives.
The BBC says it has received no credible explanation for Lawrence's detention. "We have received no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities other than the claim by the officials, who later released him, that they arrested him for his own good in case he contracted Covid-19 from the crowd," according to the BBC.
"If we must die, you die together with us!" ""End the #lockdown! "
In #Urumqi #Xinjiang, angry people surrounded the government building and demanded lifting the lockdown after being locked down for months. #covid # covid19 #CCPVirus pic.twitter.com/QwxyVul5sH— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferzeng97) November 26, 2022
New arrests in Shanghai during protests against strict anti-Covid measures