Mainland protester who attended July 1 rally beaten up trying to return to hk
Peasant who attended July 1 rally says he was pummelled as he headed back to city to speak up for three jailed for joining in annual protest
A mainland activist who attended the July 1 rally in Hong Kong was beaten up by a security officer while on his way back to the city to speak out against the abuse suffered by fellow dissidents.
Li Yanjun, 49, a peasant from Nanning , Guangxi province, said yesterday he was pummelled for about 10 minutes before being taken to a police station last Tuesday in Shenzhen.
He made it to Hong Kong the next day and held a press conference yesterday, where he spoke in support of three other activists jailed for joining or attempting to join the July 1 protest.
Li said he checked into a hotel in the Baoding area of Shenzhen, far away from the city centre, to avoid security officers. But two assistant police officers visited him soon after he checked in, asking him to verify his identity. Li refused, pointing out that assistant policemen had no enforcement power.
"I told them to find some real officers to come there. They were very unhappy and one of them beat me. Then they dragged me and forced me into a car and drove me to the police station," said Li, who was due to leave Hong Kong yesterday.
The hotel manager, the only witness to the attack, was reportedly threatened by the officers. In a video recording made by Li of their conversation, the manager denied the beating took place.
Li, who has been petitioning since 2003 against a developer's pollution of his farmland, said he was unsure if the beating was related to his participation in the July 1 protest.