China Anti-Lockdown Protests: BBC Journalist 'Arrested', 'Beaten And Kicked' By Police

A journalist of the British broadcaster BBC was arrested, beaten and kicked by Chinese police while covering the ongoing mass anti-Covid restrictions protests in the country.

The BBC has expressed concern over the treatment meted out by Chinese authorities to its journalist who was arrested and handcuffed while covering one of the protests in Shanghai.

"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 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," BBC said, reports Business Standard.

A BBC spokesperson said the attack on Lawrence while carrying out his duties as an accredited journalist was very worrying.

The spokesperson said the Chinese authorities had given no credible explanation or apology for his detention.

"We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd. We do not consider this a credible explanation," the statement added.