BBC journalist Edward Lawrence has been «beaten and kicked by police» before being detained while covering a protest against confinement for the COVID-19 protests in China.
The British broadcasting corporation said it is «very concerned» after confirming that the cameraman «was attacked» in Shanghai on Sunday, as some images on social networks showed police officers dragging the handcuffed journalist on the ground.
«The BBC is very concerned about the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was detained and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,» a BBC spokesman said.
The broadcaster added that Lawrence, who is now free, was held for several hours. «During his detention he was beaten and kicked by police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist,» the BBC spokesman explained.
«It is very disturbing that one of our journalists has been attacked in this way in the performance of his duties,» the spokesman added, speaking to British broadcaster LBC.
In this sense, the BBC has criticized that the corporation has not received any official explanation or apology from the authorities, «beyond a statement from officials that he had been arrested for his own good in case he caught the coronavirus in the crowd».
«We do not consider this to be a credible explanation,» the broadcaster’s spokesman said.
Lawrence, who works for the corporation at its Beijing headquarters, traveled to Shanghai for the mass protests that were called in the city.
According to the journalist himself posted on his Twitter profile, the police were blocking the roads and not allowing people to pass, after the crowd increased.
«I have seen the Police arresting three people, two of whom confronted the officers. There is silent tension until one person shouts, then the crowd chants and claps in support,» he has explained after noting that the protests were peaceful with a lot of police control.
Since Friday, residents in China have organized several protests in different cities across the country over the measures imposed against the coronavirus under the so-called ‘COVID Zero’ policy implemented by Xi Jinping.
The number of coronavirus infections is at a record high in the country with more than 40,000 people infected.
