The Civil Human Rights Front yesterday criticised police for what it says is an increase in abuses of power in arresting protesters and charging them under a tougher law for scuffling with officers.
Its claim was backed by a Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor study, which found a rise in police prosecuting protesters under the Offences Against the Person Ordinance since 2007.
The front - an umbrella organisation of community groups - said the police had arrested 38 people during demonstrations in the first seven months of this year. The group was publicising its regular report on alleged abuses of police power.
The arrests included the high-profile detention in March of protesters who demonstrated outside the central government's liaison office in December, and arrests made at a series of rallies over issues such as constitutional reform.
The front alleged that, in many cases, those arrested had to wait for an extended period before being told they would not be charged after they were released on bail.
The group also said that those arrested for minor scuffles with police tended to be charged under the tougher Offences Against the Person Ordinance rather than the Police Ordinance.
