Wed 22 JAN 2014 – Beijing – Xu Zhiyong trial
A BBC team – correspondent, cameraman, producer – turned up at the courthouse at 0845. We got out of our car at the north gate. We were met by police who checked our IDs and said we could not stay. They were polite and it was orderly.
At around 1100 we were with other journalists about a hundred metres from the west gate of the court. Everyone was outside of the police cordon. Some petitioners were milling about. Then the police – for no clear reason – starting shoving us up the road. It lasted for about a minute and ended as abruptly as it started.
And then there was a second incident around 1200. The video of the link is: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
As you can see, when we start the piece the police are about 30 metres away. I even say in the piece “it’s calmed down.” But then one policeman wanders up. He goes for the camera. About 30 seconds later, three plain-clothed thugs appear and manhandle us up the street. They keep going for the camera to try and kill the picture. And then they just disappear. No one was injured in the incident.
We filmed the police cordon – a blue ticker tape – about 100 metres back from the court.
In terms of the pavement we were on there was no clear police cordon as far as we were aware of. As you can see from the video, the police came to us from the direction of the court.