A well-known human rights activist protesting to bring awareness to the issue of missing Chinese tennis superstar Peng Shuai was reportedly thrown down the steps of Wimbledon Sunday after shouting, “Where is Peng Shuai?”
The scene unfolded during the third set of the men’s final between Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic when Drew Pavlou, an Australian activist, held up a sign reading “Where is Peng Shuai?” Pavlou then began shouting, ‘where is Peng Shuai, Chinese tennis star persecuted by the Chinese government, why won’t Wimbledon say something?’
Security personnel and spectators remove a protester from the stands during their men’s singles final tennis match between Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios on the fourteenth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 10, 2022. – ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Pavlou tweeted about the incident afterward:
Peng Shuai disappeared for at least three months in 2021 after she took to social media and accused former Chinese Vice President Zhang Gaoli of forcing her to have sex.
Her disappearance quickly gained headlines and spurred the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) to suspend all events in China until proof that the tennis star was safe could be established. However, under mounting international pressure, the Chinese government eventually allowed Peng to appear in a staged interview where she presented her accusation against Zhang as a “misunderstanding.”
Human rights activist Drew Pavlou is pulled away by security after demanding Wimbledon take action in the case of missing Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai (Associated Press)
Pavlou continued on Twitter, “…one of the security guards who tripped, a guy in a blue Hawaiian shirt, he wanted to get back at me and hurt me, he pushed me with full force down the steps and I fell head first.
“He then grabbed me and smashed me up against the wall and twisted my arms behind my back.”
The Australian activist says he felt Wimbledon security treated him like a terrorist.
“As he smashed me against the wall he said ‘the police are coming to arrest you now.’ team of security treated me like a terrorist, kept my arms twisted really painfully behind my back as they expelled me from the stadium, all while saying they were sympathetic to my cause,” Pavlou claims.
“I specifically tried to wait until a break in between games, when the players take a drink. But the security attacked me while the point was in play.
“I didn’t want to disrupt the match, I just held up the sign and security started attacking me, it was only at that point I shouted out Where Is Peng Shuai because I wanted to get the message out, sorry Nick Kyrgios. I love you man hope you win the match,” the activist concluded.
Pavlou is not the only protester at Wimbledon this week seeking to bring awareness to Peng Shuai’s plight. Earlier in the week, a group known as “Free Tibet” were warned by security not to speak to fans about Peng Shuai.
Novak Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios for his seventh Wimbledon title and 21st Grand Slam.