British BBC journalist Edward Lawrence was arrested during a street protest against Chinese crown policy in the city of Shanghai. According to the British public broadcaster, he was beaten and kicked by police. After being held captive for a few hours, Lawrence was released.
“The BBC is deeply concerned at the treatment of our journalist Ed Lawrence, who was arrested and handcuffed while covering the protests in Shanghai,” the British public broadcaster read in a statement. “He was detained for several hours before being released. During his arrest he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist.”
In a video released via Twitter, Lawrence can be seen being knocked to the ground by four policemen and handcuffed. In another video, he passes in handcuffs, accompanied by two agents. He can be heard shouting in English: “Call the consulate immediately!”
Of BBC he claims that Chinese authorities have not released an official explanation for the arrest. Nor did they offer an apology. When Lawrence was released, he was said to have been arrested for his sake. According to the authorities, there was a risk that the journalist could contract a corona infection in the crowd in which he reported. The BBC he claims that no credible explanation can be found.
Rare protests in several Chinese cities
People took to the streets in several Chinese cities on Sunday in a rare wave of protests. In Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan, among others, people are protesting the coronavirus policy and even calling for the departure of President Xi Jinping. The police intervened and, according to witnesses, many people were arrested.
The reason for the protests is a fire in the city of Ürümqi in Xinjiang province that killed ten people on Thursday. According to protesters, they were unable to escape the flames due to a severe blockade.
In the condominium, not only would the doors have been closed due to the measures, but the rescuers would also have had difficulty reaching the building due to the fences that had been placed due to the lockdown. Some victims would not have dared to leave their home immediately for fear of violating the corona rules. In Ürümqi, residents were basically not allowed to leave their homes for a hundred days.
Commemorations for the victims were organized on Saturday in cities across the country. This led to protests in Shanghai, among others. Videos shared on social media show a group of protesters chanting “down with the Communist Party and down with President Xi Jinping”. On Sunday, people took to the streets again in many cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Xi’an and Chongqing.
