The latest incident report from the Foreign Correspondents Club of China is out. It doesn't make for pretty reading:

BEIJING: OFFICERS ROUGH UP AP PHOTOGRAPHERS, SEIZE MEMORY CARDS

August 20, 2008: Two Associated Press photographers attempting to cover an Olympics-timed protest were roughed up by plainclothes security officers, forced into cars and taken to a nearby building where they were questioned before being released, the news service reported. Memory cards from their cameras were confiscated.

 

The two were separately trying to find a planned protest by free Tibet supporters late Wednesday southwest of the Bird's Nest stadium. They arrived separately and each was set upon by people in civilian dress, apparently plainclothes state security agents or police. One was knocked to the ground, had his face pressed in the dirt, arm twisted behind his back and his cameras ripped from him. The other was tackled from behind, pushed to the ground, had his camera grabbed, all while being filmed.

 

They were forced into different unmarked cars, taken separately to an office a few blocks away, and held separately. Their photo cards were taken away. One was asked his views on Tibet. He was held for about 30-40 minutes before he was released. The other photographer was held for a similar length of time and then released.

There have been other incidents during the Olympic period, despite pledges of freedom to report. Many of them have been out in the provinces where Beijing's guarantees have often been about as useful as an anvil in a life raft. But some of them, as evidenced by the report above, have been closer to home. Details on the FCCC's ominously titled "Detentions and Harassment" page.