British journalist John Ray of ITN says he was assaulted by Beijing police today while covering a Tibet demonstration near the main Olympic Sporting Complex. He suffered cuts and bruises after being slammed to the ground and thrown into a van.
With all of the hype and excitement surrounding the Olympic games, its difficult to remember just how dangerous Beijing, China really is. Today, British journalist John Ray says he got a taste of police brutality while covering a Tibet demonstration.
According to a
London news report, Ray was the first correspondent based in China for ITN. He had been in Beijing since 2006.
While covering a demonstration of students for a
Free Tibet who had apparently handcuffed themselves to railings at a local park near the National Stadium, Ray says he was knocked to the ground by police and thrown into a van, where they questioned him on his opinion regarding Tibet.
The report explained that Ray was able to somehow get access to his mobile phone and call a correspondent:
"I have been roughed up. They dragged me, pulled me and knocked me to the ground. Now they are filming me. I am a British journalist. I have all the Olympic accreditation I need." Officers then asked: "What's your opinion on Tibet?" Ray replied: "I have no opinion on Tibet. I am a journalist."
Ray was allegedly taken to a restaurant where he was again forced to the ground. He tried to show the police his identification and papers but they refused to look. They knocked him around.
Ray suffered cuts and bruises from the alleged police brutality.
After an hour in the restaurant, his producer arrived and showed the police his papers. Ray was released.
A spokesperson from the British Embassy was quoted in the news article as saying:
"We are aware of the incident and have spoken directly to John Ray. We have expressed our strong concern to the Chinese authorities and we are pleased he has been released."
Free at last, Ray might have barely escaped further harm had he opined or expressed any real freedom of speech. He identified him self as a British journalist in the native tongue of Chinese and offered his paperwork but police didn't listen. He did not know why he was arrested and police never explained why.
Also taken were five American pro-free Tibet protesters who blocked the park entrance, according to the
Epoch Times.
Ray's coverage of the protest was well within the guidelines of legal reporting under the IOC so did the police treatment of Ray violate their commitment?
