Edward Lawrence, a journalist at the BBC, was arrested by police in Shanghai at the scene of protests on Sunday night, according to the BBC and as captured on what appears to be mobile phone footage of the arrest.
While he has since been released, a BBC spokesperson has expressed extreme concern about his treatment, saying he was “beaten and kicked by the police.”
Protests have erupted across China in a rare show of dissent against the ruling Communist Party, sparked by anger over the country’s increasingly costly zero-Covid policy.
Among the thousands of protesters, hundreds have even called for the removal of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who for nearly three years has overseen a strategy of mass-testing, brute-force lockdowns, enforced quarantine and digital tracking that has come at a devastating human and economic cost.
The BBC statement reads in full: “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.”
The statement continues, “It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties. 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.”
Public protest is exceedingly rare in China, where the Communist Party has tightened its grip on all aspects of life, launched a sweeping crackdown on dissent, wiped out much of civil society and built a high-tech surveillance state.
At least two clips of the arrest were posted online by a Twitter user who says they witnessed the scene. One clip, filmed from above, shows at least four police officers standing over a handcuffed man whose face is obscured.
In a second clip of a man wearing the same clothing, Lawrence’s face is clearly identifiable, as police quickly led him away, and then shouts, “Call the consulate now.”
The witness who shared the videos said they saw the journalist get “sieged and dragged to the ground by several cops.”
It is unclear what happened in the lead-up to Lawrence’s arrest. The video available online begins with his arrest and does not show what happened prior.
CNN reached out to China’s Foreign Ministry for comment on the incident. Chinese authorities have not yet made any public statements on the matter.
The Crown’s fifth season finds the War of the Waleses being fought on a new battleground: in the press. The latest season chronicles the mounting media battle between Princess Diana and Prince Charles that preceded their 1996 divorce. First, Diana secretly collaborated with Andrew Morton on the explosive tell-all, Her True Story—detailing her marital unhappiness, struggle with bulimia, and suicide attempts. In response, Charles returned public fire by conducting a sit-down interview with the BBC’s Jonathan Dimbleby, confirming his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles and explaining his side of the marital story. And in the sixth episode, “No Woman’s Land”—which finds Diana (Elizabeth Debicki) more paranoid, vulnerable, and vengeful than ever following Charles’s on-camera confessional—an ominous real-life figure makes his grand entrance: Martin Bashir, as played by Prasanna Puwanarajah.
Series creator Peter Morgan had plenty of captivating historical material to draw from for the period drama’s new season, which spans the royal scandal-rich period of 1991 to 1997. But the Bashir story line—which stretches into the following episode, “Gunpowder”—feasts on the journalist’s real-life manipulation of Diana, some details of which were only unearthed last year when Lord John Dyson, a former justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, released a damning 127-page report on the deceitful tactics used to score the 1995 Panoramainterview, during which Diana famously commented, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded,” alluding to Camilla and Charles’s long-standing affair. Diana also confirmed her own marital infidelity in the interview.
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To secure the sensational sit-down, as shown on The Crown, Bashir first wooed Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer. As the Dyson report notes, during an initial meeting, the then largely-unknown journalist presented Spencer with phony bank statements purportedly showing that several of his and Diana’s employees had accepted payments from a newspaper publisher, presumably to spy on and report about their royal bosses. Spencer, as explained in the Dyson report, said that he trusted Bashir because of his BBC association and because of what appeared to be authentic bank statements, which he called the “absolute clincher.” The documents had twin effects according to Tina Brown in The Diana Chronicles: “Bashir simultaneously established his trustworthiness and credibility with the Spencers and [later] strengthened Diana’s resolve to keep everything she was doing secret from people who might try to dissuade her.”
The statements, it was later revealed, were actually mocked up by a freelance graphic designer at Bashir’s request. “I mean, I was duped,” Spencer is quoted as saying in the Dyson Report.
According to the Dyson report, it was because of Bashir’s successful deception that Spencer made the introduction to his sister, Diana. Once in contact with Diana, Bashir reportedly doubled down on his manipulation efforts—stoking Diana’s paranoia with further false reports about insiders’ betrayals. As reported by The Telegraph, Bashir even claimed that Prince William and Harry’s nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke had an affair with Prince Charles by showing Diana a fake receipt for what he said was the nanny’s abortion. (Earlier this year, the BBC publicly apologized to Legge-Bourke for the “serious and prolonged harm” that the false allegations caused her, and agreed to pay her an undisclosed settlement.) “Bashir also told Diana that she shouldn’t trust [her friends] Catherine Soames,Kate Menzies, and Julia Samuel,” wrote royal biographer and former Vanity Fair contributor Sally Bedell Smith in the biography Diana in Search of Herself. “He probably figured that all three women were independent-minded as well as discreet, and would have cautioned Diana against cooperating with him.”
As is depicted on The Crown and included in the Dyson report, Spencer began to doubt Bashir’s credibility after comparing contemporaneous notes from his first and second meetings with the journalist, and finding small discrepancies. “I then immediately apologized to Diana for having wasted her time,” Spencer is quoted as saying in the report, “and explained that I believed Bashir to be a fantasist or a fraud and told her why. I didn’t know if he was a liar or a fantasist, but I knew he was bad news, in my opinion, and that was the end of him for me.”
But Diana did not listen. As Smith wrote in Diana in Search of Herself, “Bashir had struck a nerve with Diana, who had long suspected she was being spied on by the royal family.”
LOS ANGELES — The Earthshot Prize, founded by Britain’s Prince William to honor groundbreaking solutions to environmental issues, will broadcast its second ceremony on PBS and the BBC.
William, who launched the global prize with The Royal Foundation, will join the event to be filmed Dec. 2 in Boston and air Dec. 4 on Britain’s BBC. On Dec. 5, it will stream on PBS.org, the PBS app and PBS YouTube channel and on The Earthshot Prize YouTube channel. PBS stations will air the ceremony on Dec. 14.
In a statement Thursday, BBC executive Jack Bootle said last year’s inaugural ceremony included “big-name stars and brilliant musical acts. This year’s will be every bit as spectacular.” Participants besides the prince have yet to be announced.
The prize, inspired by and with a name echoing President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to America to land a man on the moon by that decade’s end, aims to “discover and scale the best solutions to help repair our planet within the next decade,” according to a release.
Each of this year’s five winners will receive $1 million to accelerate their projects aimed at the prize’s 2030 goals: protecting and restoring nature; cleaning the air; reviving the oceans; building a waste-free world, and fixing the climate.
“We support the mission of The Earthshot Prize and are looking forward to creating year-round content that showcases the work of the individuals and teams who are working to protect the planet with breakthrough innovations,” Paula Kerger, PBS president and CEO, said in a statement.
It has been over 5 years since Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Doctor John Watson (Martin Freeman) last graced our TV screens in the hit BBC show, Sherlock. Sherlock was created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat and is a modern reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes book series. The show premiered in 2010 and opened to very positive reviews. The highly positive reception continued until its fourth and final season, which received largely mixed reviews from audiences.
The series follows Watson, a war veteran who has just returned from Afghanistan. In seeking a place to live, he meets the eccentric but brilliant Holmes, who does detective work for Scotland Yard. The two become flatmates in 221B Baker Street, which they rent from Mrs. Hudson (Una Stubbs) and begin solving crimes together. Over the seasons, the two face threats from formidable enemies including James “Jim” Moriarty (Andrew Scott), Irene Adler (Lara Pulver), Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen), and Culverton Smith (Toby Jones).
Sherlock won numerous awards, as did Cumberbatch and Freeman for their performances as Holmes and Watson. The show ran for 4 seasons and Moffat and Gatiss had plans for a 5th. However, production plans fell through largely because of Cumberbatch’s and Freeman’s busy schedules. Rumors of a 5th season are still swirling, but after 5 years, it is difficult to say if Sherlock ever will return. For now, though, we have a total of 12 episodes and 1 TV special to fulfill our Sherlock cravings. Here is every Sherlock episode ranked from worst to best.
13. The Six Thatchers
(BBC)
“The Six Thatchers” was the 1st episode of the 4th season of Sherlock and aired on January 1, 2017. The episode starts where the season 3 finale, “His Last Vow,” ends and sees Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss) manipulating the media to absolve Sherlock of guilt for murdering Magnussen. Meanwhile, Watson and his wife, Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington), welcome a baby girl, Rosamund, but their marriage struggles. Additionally, while trying to uncover the late Moriarty’s evil posthumous plans, Sherlock instead uncovers a dangerous piece of Morstan’s past.
“The Six Thatchers” proves to be one of the most emotional and devastating episodes of Sherlock. However, that may not have been what fans needed from the 1st episode of Sherlock to air after a 3-year hiatus. The show suffered from turning away from mystery-solving to explore the more personal lives of the characters. It stuffs too much grief and sadness into one episode by choosing to open the season by killing off a main character and hinting at extramarital affairs. Also, the bombshell ending of “His Last Vow” is practically wiped away as Sherlock faces no consequences nor emotion over his murder of Magnussen. Ultimately, it was a pretty glum, disappointing, and rather senseless opening to season 4.
12. The Final Problem
(BBC)
“The Final Problem” was the last episode of Sherlock to air on January 15th, 2017. After many teases, the episode finally confirms that Sherlock has a long-lost sister, Eurus (Sian Brooke). Sherlock had his memories of her rewritten by Mycroft after he was traumatized as a child by Eurus drowning his dog and burning the family’s house down. She was sent away to live at a maximum-security facility by Mycroft. However, through her brilliance, she manages to gain control of the prison, forcing Sherlock, Mycroft, and Watson to play her torturous games. Amidst the chaos, Sherlock attempts to solve the mystery of a little girl who phones him from a plane where all the passengers and crew are asleep.
In some ways, “The Final Problem” was a fitting end to Sherlock. It dug down into Sherlock’s family history and explored his relationship with Watson and Mycroft further. It also had a particularly poignant end in which the entire Sherlock family was reunited for the first time in years. However, with that being said, it was a messy episode featuring multiple subplots, metaphors, mind control, and false memories. Needless to say, it departs too far from its usual detective/mystery format into something a little too abstract, confusing, and unbelievable. Performances were on point and the emotion was there, but the plot simply didn’t work for this one.
11. The Blind Banker
(BBC)
“The Blind Banker” was the second episode of Sherlock‘s first season and premiered on August 1st, 2010. The episode sees Sherlock and Watson tackle a bizarre case where symbols are being graffitied throughout London. It seems the symbols are messages, or threats, as those who see them tend to end up dead shortly afterward. Sherlock soon realizes the symbols are Chinese hieroglyphics and they are dealing with a criminal ring, The Black Lotus, who want something that has been stolen from them. Meanwhile, Watson returns to doing medical work and goes on a date with his co-worker, Dr. Sarah Sawyer (Zoe Telford).
“The Blind Banker” is comedic with an aura of mystery that keeps audiences engaged. However, it does suffer for several reasons. The first is that its viewers were expecting it to be better than the pilot episode, but instead it was a few notches worst. Second, it is so loosely based on a specific Doyle story that most will miss the connection. Lastly, the Black Lotus proves very ineffective as a criminal ring and prevents the episode from having a strong villain. Ultimately, it’s a moderately intriguing episode but is still pretty weak in plot and execution.
10. The Abominable Bride
(BBC)
“The Abominable Bride” is a TV special of Sherlock that aired between season 3 and season 4. The special sees a Victorian-era Sherlock and Watson attempting to solve a mystery together. It is later revealed that this trip to the past is drug-induced and takes place in the present-day Sherlock’s mind as he believes solving the Victorian-era case will help solve his case of how Moriarty is supposedly still alive. The Victorian-era case occurs when a consumptive bride, Emelia Ricoletti (Natasha O’Keeffe), commits suicide, yet somehow returns later that same evening to murder her husband before disappearing. Sherlock must solve the case of how this woman died, yet seemingly came back from the dead to kill her husband.
In many ways “The Abominable Bride” was quite brilliant. The performances, the unique premise, the cinematography, the costumes, and the set design were all flawless. Creatively, it was bold, daring, abstract, and ultimately very entertaining. However, logically, the episode didn’t make much sense. “The Abominable Bride” was an extremely unnecessary way to solve what was a very simple and obvious mystery. Additionally, the episode only was loosely tied to season 3 and season 4 and was a “filler” episode. There’s no doubt that the episode worked, but the creators made it a little too obvious they wanted to create a Victorian-style Sherlock episode merely for the sake of doing so and for no other reason.
9. A Study in Pink
(BBC)
“A Study in Pink” was the very first episode of Sherlock and premiered on July 25, 2010. The episode kicks off by introducing Watson, an Afghanistan veteran who has recently returned home, seemingly suffering from PTSD and a limp. He meets Sherlock as the detective searches for a flatmate to share a flat with at 221 Baker Street. After they meet, Sherlock quickly sucks Watson into his latest case which involves a very suspicious string of alleged suicides. Watson finds himself enjoying the adventure immensely and even recognizes that rather than suffering from PTSD and a limp, he was suffering from the lack of activity after the war. He and Sherlock move in together, sparking the beginning of a friendship.
“A Study in Pink” was a very good episode as it enamored fans with their first introduction to the brilliant modern reimagining of Doyle’s work. The charisma and performances of Cumberbatch and Freeman, as well as their chemistry, were also spot-on for a pilot episode. However, while the episode certainly excited viewers for what was to come, Sherlock’s first detective case is a bit disappointing. It is clear early on that the suicides aren’t just suicides and that there is an obvious common denominator in all of them. Instead of dazzling with his first mystery, Sherlock seems to flounder and miss certain points the audience likely grasped before him.
8. The Sign of Three
(BBC)
“The Sign of Three” is the second episode in Sherlock‘s third season. The episode largely focuses on the impending wedding of Watson and Morstan. Sherlock struggles throughout the episode to write a best-man speech for Watson and also fears his relationship with Watson will change because of his marriage. In the midst of it, he struggles to solve the mystery of the attempted murder of a Guardsman. The solution becomes dire when Sherlock realizes the preparator of that crime is in attendance at Watson’s wedding and is targeting Watson’s wedding guest and friend, Major James Sholto (Alistair Petrie).
“The Sign of Three” was very different from the majority of Sherlock episodes. It departed from the usual storylines and played out a bit like a rom-con. Nonetheless, the wit and humor, especially from Sherlock’s antics, were delightful and entertaining. Additionally, it did still throw in a rather bizarre and intriguing mystery for Sherlock to solve. While it wasn’t the best episode as far as mystery, plot, and performances go, it was still very charming and also proved to be surprisingly emotional and human as it delved into the more personal sides of Watson and Sherlock.
7. A Scandal in Belgravia
(BBC)
“A Scandal in Belgravia” was the first episode of the second season of Sherlock which premiered on January 1, 2012. The episode sees Sherlock become a minor celebrity thanks to Watson’s blogs of their adventures. They are subsequently summoned to Buckingham Palace where the monarch seeks the detective’s help in retrieving Irene Adler’s (Lara Pulver) cell phone on which she has compromising photos of herself and a female member of the royal family that could be used for blackmail. However, the matter proves bigger than blackmail when government secrets and conspiracies are found to be at stake. Meanwhile, Sherlock can’t help but fall for the charm, wit, and brilliance of Adler who is romantically intrigued by him.
“A Scandal in Belgravia” was a very strong episode of Sherlock. A large part of its strength comes from the fact that it struck a nearly perfect balance between paying homage to Doyle’s original story, “A Scandal in Bohemia” while adding a modern twist to it. Additionally, viewers will be enraptured as Sherlock comes as close to having a romantic interest as he ever has in the TV series or books. The only shortcoming of the episode was how it broke away from the original plot and became a bit muddled with the complicated terrorist and conspiracy plotlines. Nonetheless, it was still a very worthy adaption of Doyle’s work.
6. The Hounds of Baskerville
(BBC)
“The Hounds of Baskerville” was the second episode of Sherlock‘s second season and premiered on January 8, 2012. The episode follows Henry Knight (Russell Tovey), who, as a child, witnessed his father die from an attack by a giant hound in Dartmoor. 20-years later Knight returns to Dartmoor only to see the hound again. He seeks help from Sherlock and Watson, convincing them that the hound isn’t a fantasy or legend. As Sherlock and Watson investigate, they suspect something darker is at play and stems from the army-base surrounding Dartmoor.
“The Hounds of Baskerville” is a solid adaption of what is one of Doyle’s most popular Sherlock tales, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Like “A Scandal in Belgravia” this episode is also a pleasant mixture of Doyle’s work along with modernization. At times, the episode captures the gothic horror of Doyle’s original story, before shifting into technological advances and experiments from a modern army base. Throughout its entirety, though, it managed to be suspenseful, thrilling, and creepy. The performances, CGI, tone, and storyline were top-notch. The only issue was that it ran just a tad long and ran out of momentum in certain spots.
5. The Empty Hearse
(BBC)
“The Empty Hearse” is the first episode of Sherlock season 3 and premiered on January 1, 2014. The episode starts off two years after Sherlock faked his death, as he returns to London covertly to work with Mycroft to stop an impending terrorist attack. Meanwhile, Watson has moved on after Sherlock’s death and is revealed to be in a serious relationship with Morstan. He is crushed and angered when he realizes Sherlock is still alive. However, they must put their differences aside and work together as London is threatened with a terrorist attack on Guy Fawkes Night.
“The Empty Hearse” succeeded in boasting one of the strongest openings to a Sherlock season. Sherlock and Watson’s return was explosive and emotional as they navigated the aftermath of Sherlock’s fake death. Additionally, it perfectly set the stage for the remainder of the season by strategically debuting Morstan and Magnussen. Sherlock and Watson’s return and their emotional reunion was the highlight of the episode. While the terrorist subplot was intriguing, it did get vastly overshadowed Sherlock and Watson’s attempts at reconciliation and the mind-blowing explanation of how Sherlock faked his death. Ultimately, the episode was brilliant, but just a little boisterous and ambitious to fit into a single episode.
4. The Lying Detective
(BBC)
“The Lying Detective” was episode 2 of season 4 of Sherlock and premiered on January 8, 2017. The episode sees that Sherlock and Watson have grown distant since the death of Watson’s wife. Watson has started therapy and struggles with hallucinations of Morstan. Meanwhile, Sherlock has fallen into drug abuse again. In the midst of it, he is faced with a chilling threat from Culverton Smith (Toby Jones), an undetected serial killer with so much power he is nearly untouchable.
“The Lying Detective” is one of Sherlock‘s darkest and most somber episodes. It very poignantly explores drug abuse, grief, and broken friendships. At the same time, it features an antagonist on par with Moriarty and Magnussen, as well as an elaborate mystery that effectively keeps the audience off its case. Even in his drug-induced stupor, Sherlock is still as brilliant and elaborate as ever, and even the past can’t destroy his relationship with Watson. The episode boasted depth, emotion, and a strong storyline with intriguing plot twists. It was ultimately a very strong and touching story, though it didn’t have some of the brilliance, shock, and daring nature of some of Sherlock‘s other finer episodes.
3. The Great Game
(BBC)
“The Great Game” is the final episode of Sherlock‘s first season and premiered on August 8, 2010. Sherlock finds himself taking on his most pressing case yet when he receives a mobile phone that belonged to one of the victims in “A Study in Pink.” The phone allows an anonymous number to reach Sherlock that instructs him to solve various mysteries in a certain amount of time. If he fails to solve the mystery in time, a hostage will die. If he solves the mystery in time, the hostage goes free. Hence, Sherlock races to save lives and uncover who this mysterious stranger is who seeks to torment him.
“The Great Game” marked the official introduction of the iconic Sherlock Holmes villain Moriarty and proved to be an explosive ending to the first season. The episode was gripping and suspenseful in its entirety. It also masterfully revealed how all the episodes and cases in the first season were interconnected. For 90 minutes the audience is treated to nonstop action, thrilling plot devices, and dazzling performances from Cumberbatch and Freeman. The episode also marked a very strong debut from Moriarty who embodied a strong iteration of the iconic villain. The only thing “The Great Game” didn’t have was a shocking and unforeseeable twist and climax, like the two episodes at the top of this list, boast.
2. The Reichenbach Fall
(BBC)
“The Reichenbach Fall” was the season finale of Sherlock‘s second season and premiered on January 15, 2012. The episode sees Moriarty’s sinister plans for Sherlock reach their final stages. Moriarty, a criminal mastermind, succeeds in getting acquitted of his prior crimes. He then sets out to destroy Sherlock by convincing the world he is a fraud and criminal. Sherlock and Watson find their former days of fame from Watson’s blog are over. Now, they frantically scramble for a way to stop Sherlock’s arch-enemy for good, but the stakes are high and not everyone will make it out alive.
“The Reichenbach Fall” is a brilliant, shocking, and very emotional finale that finally sees Moriarty’s plans play out in full. The episode was the culmination of the first two seasons of Sherlock and masterfully uncovered how the stories were all interconnected with Moriarty’s plans slowly unraveling each episode. After two seasons, “The Reichenbach Fall” did the impossible and lived up to every tease and expectation. The plot was strong, the emotion was palpable, and there were some moments almost too shocking to believe. Also, Cumberbatch, Freeman, and Scott gave what can only be described as true Emmy-worthy performances. Meanwhile, the episode brilliantly ended with a twist that, though predictable, still managed to have every audience member asking, “How?”
1. His Last Vow
(BBC)
“His Last Vow” was the season 3 finale of Sherlock and premiered on January 12, 2014. The episode sees Sherlock, against Mycroft’s wishes, going after Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen). Magnussen is an extremely powerful blackmailer, who managed to attain his high level of power by becoming the “Napoleon of blackmail.” However, in his pursuit of Magnussen, Sherlock accidentally uncovers a secret about Morstan’s past that she has failed to tell Watson. In the end, breaking the world free from Magnussen’s power will require some drastic measures.
“His Last Vow” was an explosive and brilliant ending to season 3. Mikkelsen was simply magnificent and chilling as Magnussen. Meanwhile, Cumberbatch, Freeman, and Abbington all gave very heartfelt performances. The plot was thrilling and it boasted a bombshell ending. However, before viewers could even get over their initial shock, the episode managed to throw in the second tease of an unexpected character’s return. Ultimately, “His Last Vow” was dazzling, brilliant, and suspenseful with a fair amount of twists and turns, references to Doyle’s work, and brilliant performances. I believe it’s as close to a flawless TV episode as a show can get.
The mother of Nika Shahkarami, a 16-year-old protester who was found dead in Tehran last month, says her daughter was killed by Iranian security forces at a protest.
In interviews with Iranian newspaper Etemad and BBC Persian and a video message published by US-funded Radio Farda, Shahkarami’s mother, Nasrin Shahkarami, rejected official explanations that her daughter fell off a roof.
“It’s clear that my daughter was at the protests and killed there,” Nasrin Shahkarami said, according to the interview with Etemad, an independent Iranian newspaper.
Etemad removed the interview from its website on Tuesday.
Nika Shahkarami’s death comes amid ongoing nationwide protests against a regime accused of corruption and stamping out dissent with arbitrary detentions and even mass executions.
The protests were first ignited by the death of another young woman, Mahsa Amini, after she was detained by morality police in September.
The Iranian government has said Nika Shahkarami was found dead on September 21 after closed circuit TV footage appeared to show her entering a building in Tehran, and authorities have publicly concluded that she died after falling from the building’s roof.
Mohammad Shahriari, the head of criminal prosecution of Tehran province, said Shahkarami’s injuries corresponded with a fall, citing an autopsy that revealed multiple fractures in the area of the pelvis, head, upper and lower limbs, hands and feet, state-aligned Tasnim reported.
He added that “an investigation showed this incident had no connection to the protests. No bullet holes were found on the body and the marks on the body show that the person was killed by falling.”
Eight workers in the building she allegedly entered have been arrested, according to Tasnim.
But Nasrin Shahkarami rebuts those official accounts. She said her daughter’s body only had injuries to the head and the rest of the body was in good condition, in the Radio Farda video.
She also denied that the girl shown entering the building in the CCTV video is her daughter.
“No one can prove that this is Nika. A shadow was recorded on the camera, the girl is wearing a mask and it’s not clear what is being seen in these images. I don’t believe this is Nika,” Shahkarami told Etemad.
Nika Shahkarami went missing after attending a protest in Tehran, according to her mother, who has confirmed that her daughter can be seen in social media footage of a protest.
“I saw this video and the young girl in the video is Nika,” Nasrin Shahkarami told Etemad.
Nine days after her disappearance, police showed Shahkarami’s photos of her daughter’s body at Kahrizak morgue, she said, according to Radio Farda.
Though other family members been cited by state-aligned media endorsing the idea that Nika Shahkarami died from a fall, her mother alleges that those statements were “forced” by authorities.
On Wednesday, Iranian state media aired a report in which Atash Shakarami, Nika Shahkarami’s aunt, told a reporter that the girl died after falling from an apartment building, supporting the government account of the teenager’s death.
In the report by Iran state-broadcaster IRIB, Atash Shahkarami said that her niece was found in the backyard of the building after falling. The aunt said she was shown photos of where Nika fell and wanted to see where it happened.
Nika’s uncle, Mohsen Shahkarami, is also seen in the IRIB report condemning protesters and saying “we do not support any actions that harm public property.”
Nasrin Shahkarami said that Iranian security forces arrested the aunt and uncle and forced them to make a false statement, according to BBC Persian and Radio Farda.
Shahkarami told BBC Persian her brother was threatened not to speak out or his wife and 4-year-old son would be arrested.
“They put them under intense pressure to make a false confession and aired it on television. The (security forces) do whatever they can to exonerate themselves,” Shahkarami said in a video provided to Radio Farda.
The UN Human Rights Office told CNN on Thursday that it has “received reports indicating that the authorities forced Nika Shakarami’s family to give a TV interview, which was broadcast on 5 October, stating she died after falling from a building.”
“We call for an end to harassment and threats against victims’ families and those calling for accountability,” the statement from a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office said.
CNN has reached out to family members for comment.
A BBC correspondent covering the Ukraine conflict had to duck for cover during a live broadcast after Kyiv was targeted by Russian airstrikes on Monday morning.
Hugo Bachega was reporting from central Kyiv on the escalating conflict after a bridge connecting the annexed area of Crimea to Russia was blown up on Saturday. The Kremlin has blamed the attack on Ukraine.
“So the fear is that this could trigger a very strong Russian response. We saw yesterday that a residential area of the city of Zaporizhzhia, a major city in the south of the country, very close to the front lines was hit,” Bachega said, before he was distracted by the sound of an airborne missile.
He ducked out of view of the camera as an explosion was heard.
The BBC threw it back to the studio, where the anchor said Bachega had taken cover “for obvious reasons.”
Within the hour, Bachega delivered another report, noting that the airstrike had hit close to his hotel in the city center.
“We understand that several explosions have happened here in the capital, and we had an update from the emergency services saying that several people have been killed and wounded,” he reported.
He later posted on Instagram that he was safe, but was having a “busy and depressing day” reporting from a parking lot, ostensibly underground to shelter from airstrikes.
At least 11 deaths and scores more injuries were reported Monday after Russia launched a major volley of strikes on cities across Ukraine. At least eight people were killed in Kyiv, according to city officials, with dozens more injured. Many of the locations hit appeared to be residential or key infrastructure sites, the Associated Press reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strikes were ordered in retaliation for the Crimea bridge explosion.
A group of Russian-speaking cyber criminals has claimed credit for a sweeping hack that has compromised employee data at the BBC and British Airways and left US and UK cybersecurity officials scrambling to respond.
The hackers, known as the CLOP ransomware gang, say they have “information on hundreds of companies.” They’ve given victims until June 14 to discuss a ransom before they start publishing data from companies they claim to have hacked, according to a dark web posting seen by CNN.
The extortion threat adds urgency to an already high-stakes security incident that has forced responses from tech firms, corporations and government agencies from the US to Canada and the UK.
The compromise of employee data at the BBC and British Airways came via a breach of a human resources firm, Zellis, that both organizations use.
“We are aware of a data breach at our third-party supplier, Zellis, and are working closely with them as they urgently investigate the extent of the breach,” a BBC spokesperson told CNN Wednesday. The spokesperson declined to comment on the hackers’ extortion threat.
A British Airways spokesperson said the company had “notified those colleagues whose personal information has been compromised to provide support and advice.”
The hackers — a well-known group whose favored malware emerged in 2019 — last week began exploiting a new flaw in a widely used file-transfer software known as MOVEit, appearing to target as many exposed organizations as they could. The opportunistic nature of the hack left a broad swath of organizations vulnerable to extortion.
Numerous US state government agencies use the MOVEit software, but it’s unclear how many agencies, if any, have been compromised.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has ordered all federal civilian agencies to update the MOVEit software in light of the hack. No federal agencies have been confirmed as victims, a CISA spokesperson told CNN.
Together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CISA also released advice on dealing with the CLOP hack. Progress, the US firm that owns the MoveIT software, has also urged victims to update their software packages and has issued security advice.
CISA Executive Director for Cybersecurity Eric Goldstein said in a statement: “CISA remains in close contact with Progress Software and our partners at the FBI to understand prevalence within federal agencies and critical infrastructure.”
But the effort to respond to the cyber attack is very much ongoing.
The CLOP hackers are “overwhelmed with the number of victims,” according to Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting, a Google-owned firm that has investigated the hack. “Instead of directly reaching out to victims over email or telephone calls like in prior campaigns, they are asking victims to reach out to them via email,” he said on LinkedIn Tuesday night.
Allan Liska, a ransomware expert at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, also told CNN: “Unfortunately, the sensitive nature of the data often stored on MOVEit servers means there will likely be real consequences stemming from the [data theft] but it will be months before we understand the full fallout from this attack.”
