May 18, 2015, Linshui, Sichuan
“A peaceful protest of local residence ended in a violent confrontation between police and demonstrators. The local government had allowed Al Jazeera to report on the town’s return to normality. As I was recording a statement to camera in the street, watched by our official minders, a 4×4 vehicle with tinted windows suddenly screeched to a halt beside us. Four men dressed in black battle fatigues and armed with assault rifles and shotguns came running towards us, shouting orders in Mandarin to lie on the ground. We were all too stunned to move. You could clearly hear the safety catches on their weapons being switched off.
One member of the SWAT team tried to force an Al Jazeera English producer, to lie face down. Our cameraman, was struck between the shoulder blades as his camera and tripod were snatched from him. The commandos left as quickly as they arrived. But we were later held for several hours. All this happened in front of our government minders who were also jostled and shouted at. A case, perhaps, of overlapping authority.
The camera was eventually returned but all the material on the memory cards had been wiped clean. The authorities are literally trying to erase evidence of what happened.”
Adrian Brown, Al Jazeera