Amnesty International Accuses Hong Kong Police Of Torturing Protesters
Human rights group Amnesty International has accused Hong Kong’s police force of “unnecessary and excessive force” towards detained protesters in what it says amounts to “torture,” Bloomberg Quint reported. With riots raging over the influence of China on the now-independent ex-British colony, concerns are mounting that the news could pour additional fuel the civil unrest that has plagued Hong Kong for the past several months.
Among the list of accusations made by Amnesty International, police have reportedly flashed laser pointers in people’s eyes and threatened to electrocute one man in the genitals after he refused to unlock his cell phone. The Amnesty report was produced from interviewing 21 detainees, 18 of which also had their medical records reviewed after they were hospitalized for injuries and illnesses from their time in the custody of the Hong Kong police.
The report first published on the Amnesty International website elaborated.
“The evidence leaves little room for doubt – in an apparent thirst for retaliation, Hong Kong’s security forces have engaged in a disturbing pattern of reckless and unlawful tactics against people during the protests. This has included arbitrary arrests and retaliatory violence against arrested persons in custody, some of which has amounted to torture.”
Our new field investigation has documented an alarming pattern of the Hong Kong Police Force deploying reckless & indiscriminate tactics, including while arresting people at protests, evidence of torture & other ill-treatment in detention. https://t.co/mNd8k06Iyj
— Amnesty International (@amnesty) September 19, 2019
The report states that a lot of the violence was doled out to detainees for talking back or appearing otherwise uncooperative, with many receiving beatings even while restrained and not resisting. The organization posted a quote from one man assaulted by the Hong Kong police force.
“I felt my legs hit with something really hard. Then one [officer] flipped me over and put his knees on my chest. I felt the pain in my bones and couldn’t breathe. I tried to shout but I couldn’t breathe and couldn’t talk.”
While last month saw President Trump promising the Chinese leader he would not get involved in China cracking down on the violence in Hong Kong’s streets, per The Inquisitr, perhaps the president’s stance will be different after Amnesty International’s findings. With many protest photos showing protesters carrying signs saying ‘”re-elect Trump,” it seems clear he has some support from them.
The Straits Times recently reported that Hong Kong’s leader, Carry Lam, has announced that the first community dialogue session will take place later this month on September 26, some four months after the mayhem ensued in Hong Kong city. The Hong Kong government issued a statement that protesters attending must be “well-behaved” and no umbrellas or loudhailers will be permitted at the talks.
