BBC journalist Ed Lawrence has been assaulted and detained by Chinese police while covering the Covid protest in Shanghai.
A spokesperson of BBC stated that 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 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,” the spokesperson added.
China had been facing protests against strict Covid restrictions.
Later, Lawrence posted his statement via BBC on social media stating that he knew at least one local citizen had been detained for attempting to stop police from hitting him.
BBC also claimed that they had not been given a credible reason for Lawrence’s detention or any official apology for the journalist’s assault.
As per the statement from Chinese police, “Lawrence was arrested for his good in case he caught Covid from the crowd.”
