Amnesty International slams Hong Kong police for arresting 6 people over efforts to mark Tiananmen crackdown
- Human rights group calls arrests ‘an insult’ to memory of those who died during incident on June 4, 1989
- Pro-Beijing analyst Lau Siu-kai defends heavy police presence during crackdown anniversary, says force must prevent anyone ‘stirring up troubles’
Amnesty International has accused Hong Kong’s police of attacking residents’ right to freedom of expression after six people were arrested in Causeway Bay on June 4 in connection with efforts to mark the anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.
Hana Young, the group’s deputy regional director, on Sunday said that the arrests of those attempting to peacefully commemorate the event were “an insult” to the memory of those who died during the incident in 1989.
She also accused police of using “harassment and indiscriminate targeting” against people who were peacefully honouring the victims of the crackdown.
The six, comprising five men and one woman, aged between 19 to 80, were detained for offences including allegedly inciting others to participate in an unauthorised assembly, obstructing police officers in the execution of their duties and possession of an offensive weapon.
The force on Saturday maintained a heavy presence in and near Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, which was used to host an annual candlelight vigil to commemorate the incident before authorities banned the event for three consecutive years.
Cordoning off sections of the park out of concerns of “unlawful assembly”, officers opted to stop-and-search residents who marked the occasion in a low-key manner, such as carrying flowers, candles or flashing lights from their mobile phones in the area.