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Hong Kong police have been heavily criticized for the harsh arrest of a 12-year-old girl whose family says she was caught in a protest crowd while shopping for art supplies.
A video widely shared on social media and in Hong Kong media showed officers trying to corner a group of people, including the young woman, who ducked and tried to escape. One officer knocked her to the ground, while several others helped immobilize her.
The arrest came amid the largest street protest seen in Hong Kong since July 1, the first full day under national security laws imposed by Beijing on the city, which prohibits acts of sedition, secession, foreign collusion. and terrorism.
The girl’s mother told Apple Daily that she intended to sue and file a formal complaint. He said his daughter and 20-year-old son, who were fined under city laws related to the pandemic against gatherings, were buying art supplies and that the girl ran away because she was scared. Her daughter was bruised and scratched after the encounter.
Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy legislator, said the actions taken toward the girl “show how unnecessarily nervous [and] the trigger-happy Hong Kong police have become. “
In a statement a few hours after the incident, Hong Kong police confirmed the arrest of a 12-year-old girl, saying that she had run “in a suspicious manner” and that officers had used “the minimum force necessary” to stop her.
“The police were concerned about the participation of young people in prohibited group meetings. Their presence in the chaotic protest scenes also unpredictgers their own personal safety, ”she said.
Illegal assemblies
On Sunday night, the Hong Kong government said people had ignored police advice not to participate in illegal gatherings, risking anti-pandemic efforts and potentially violating national security law. The government “strongly condemns[ed] these illicit and selfish acts ”.
“The police today fulfilled their legitimate duties and took swift and decisive action to arrest the offenders.”
The central government liaison office accused the protesters of trying to “reignite the war” and accused them of having “a cold-blooded disregard for the life and health of the general public” by violating assembly bans.
The spokesperson said that since the implementation of the law “Hong Kong society has experienced a positive shift from chaos to governance,” and said there will be “zero tolerance” for any violations.
Almost 300 people were arrested Sunday, the vast majority for illegal assemblies. About 2,000 police officers were deployed earlier in the day, ahead of protests that had been planned by a coalition of pro-democracy groups to mark the day the Hong Kong elections were supposed to take place.
Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, announced in July that elections would be postponed for a year due to the danger of the most recent Covid-19 outbreak in Hong Kong, but was accused of using the pandemic to silence the opposition. Many protesters also called for the release of 12 people arrested by the Chinese coast guard while trying to flee to Taiwan by boat.
Separately, activist Tam Tak-chi was also arrested on Sunday for “uttering seditious words,” Hong Kong police said.
Radical People’s Democratic Party vice chairman and former radio host, Mr. Tam was arrested by the Hong Kong Police Force’s National Security Squad, but was charged under the ordinary criminal ordinance, not the national security law.
Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah said the squad was leading the investigation due to earlier suspicions that Mr. Tam had violated article 21 of the national security law, criminalizing “incitement to secession.”
Tam’s words had “provoked hatred and contempt from the government and aroused discontent and disaffection among the people of Hong Kong,” Li said.
So far, at least 25 people have been arrested under national security law, although only one has been charged.
The law has provided the authorities with the means to broaden the scope of their crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, and has created a chilling effect on pro-democracy academia, the media and the public. – Guardian
