Below is a summary, the evidence. More details about each point and links to research papers can be found in [Detailed Evidence].

10 Key Facts

1. Wuhan is 1500 km from the relevant bats. 
   There are some bats near Wuhan, but they have not been found to be infected with coronaviruses. Wuhan was considered a very unlikely location for a wildlife spillover in recent studies. [Geography].
2. No intermediate animal source has been found.
   A search of of over 80,000 animals has proven fruitless. The intermediate sources for SARS-1 (civets) and MERS (camels) were found within a few months. [Natural-Precursors]
3. No evidence that the Huanan “wet” seafood market was not just a super spreader.
   Most environmental samples were human, and no infected animals have been found. Samples were collected in January 2020, weeks after the initial outbreak. All but one Sample was Lineage B, not the ancestral Lineage A. Neither bats nor pangolins were traded in the market.  Detailed distance analysis is of limited value in a city with a modern subway. [Wuhan-Seafood].
4. The virus arose suddenly, fully functional, without an adaption period.
   A virus usually takes time to adapt to a new species, during which time it is not very infections, as happened with SARS-1 and MERS. Covid-19 appeared very suddenly without any history, and was more adapted to humans than any other animal. [Natural Precursors]
5. Recent advances in technology enable complex genetic engineering.
   It is now possible to “3D print” a complete virus just from a computer file. Viruses can be developed on genetically engineered “humanized” mice. The Wuhan Institution of Virology have published their excellent results enhancing other coronaviruses virulence and transmissible. [Reverse Genetics]
6. The Novel Furin Cleavage Site appears engineered.
   SARS-CoV-2 is extremely infectious because of a “Furin Cleavage Site” that is not present in other closely related coronaviruses. Its encoding strongly suggests that it was engineered and is not natural. [Furin Cleavage Site]
7. The DARPA DEFUSE proposal to add a Furin Cleavage Site.
   The WIV and the Eco Health Alliance submitted a grant proposal to engineer a Furin Cleavage Site into a Coronavirus in exactly the place that SARS-CoV-2 has one. [DEFUSE Proposal]
8. The Wuhan Institute of Virology known to have poor biosafety.
   The WIV conducted coronavirus research at the grossly inadequate biosecurity level 2, not high security space-suited BSL-4 .  US government and Chinese reports had raised concerns about their biosecurity practices in 2017.[Biosecurity at the WIV]
9. Laboratory leaks are not uncommon.
   There have been many documented leaks of dangerous pathogens from both China and western countries, such as a recent leak of SARS-2 from Taiwan. [Laboratory-Leaks]
10. Removed database and destroyed evidence.
    The WIV removed a public database of their viruses in September 2019, which probably contained the direct precursor to SARS-CoV-2. In February 2020 the Chinese government forbade Chinese academics from publishing about the virus.  The USA government also refuses to release important unclassified information. [Database Removal and Obfuscation]

10 Key Facts (Short Form)

1. Wuhan is 1500 km from the relevant bats. 
2. No intermediate animal source has been found.
3. No evidence that the Huanan “wet” seafood market was not just a super spreader.
4. The virus arose suddenly, fully functional, without an adaption period.
5. Recent advances in technology enable complex genetic engineering.
6. The Novel Furin Cleavage Site appears engineered.
7. The DARPA DEFUSE proposal to add a Furin Cleavage Site.
8. The Wuhan Institute of Virology known to have poor biosafety.
9. Laboratory leaks are not uncommon.
10. Removed database and destroyed evidence.

Secondary Facts

1. The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is a world leading bat coronaviruses laboratory.  A Google Scholar search showed 60% of recent papers on coronaviruses were associated with the WIV. [Geography].
2. Shi Zhengli overlooked the Furin Cleavage Site in her early description of SARS-CoV-2. This is rather like overlooking the horn on a unicorn.
3. US State Department said that several workers required hospitalization with flu like symptoms in early December 2019.
4. In September2019, the WIV went from civilian to military command (unusual) and ordered new ventilation systems. Official documents talked about need to change. Something happened in September.
5. The virus contains very unusual evenly spaced “restriction sites” that a researcher might add to a virus to make it easier to study.
6. The virus contains an ORF-8 protein that interferes with the human immune system. This suggests illegal gain of function experiments to suppress the immune system.
7. There does not appear to have been any attempt to trace the contacts of the earliest cases by looking for long lived antibodies.
8. Simply the fact that it is the most infectious coronavirus in 100 years, nothing as potent has arisen naturally in that period.
9. It was discovered that in 2013 six bat guano miners became ill with a SARS-like virus, samples of which were sent to the WIV. This could have been the precursor to SARS-COV-2. The WIV had said the miners had a fungal infection.
10. Researcher Yanling Huang was mysteriously removed from the WIV webpage, and has not been found. The Chinese government angrily dismissed allegations that she died from SARS-2, but without providing information as to where she is now.
11. The Chinese produced their first vaccine within a very few weeks of the genome being released. They must have been working on it beforehand.
12. There are no credible rebuttals.

Commentary

The weight of this evidence makes it very likely that the virus escaped from the WIV, beyond reasonable doubt.

This is important because this technology has become much more accessible to laboratories around the world, often with minimal oversight.  Advances in technology could enable future genetically engineered viruses to be far more infectious and virulent than SARS-COV-2. For example, a recent (2022) experiment by Boston University created a chimera (mixture) of SARS-2 viruses that was much more virulent than the natural strains [Kaiser22].

This is what must not be allowed to happen.  Students from existing laboratories setting up their own laboratories around the world and conducting dangerous Gain of Function research with inadequate safety precautions.

The next engineered virus could be even more infectious, have a longer incubation period, a higher mortality rate and, like HIV, attack the immune system.  It could be far more dangerous than SARS-COV-2.

(Permission to use this cartoon is granted with attribution.)

Andrew Tuntable
EMail: ATuntable@gmail.com
Twitter: @atuntable