In the beginning, the demonstrations in the former British colony were against the extradition bill (now withdrawn); now they call for democracy and an independent investigation into police abuses. 4,474 men and 1,548 women were arrested, aged between 11 and 84 years. The Office for Internal Complaints Against the Police has received over 1,300 complaints.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Hong Kong police forces say they have arrested more than 6,000 people since June in connection with the protests in progress and have used weapons to control the crowd about 30 thousand times.
Two days ago, 800,000 people took part in a huge peaceful gathering organized by the Civil Front for Human Rights (Chrf) to celebrate the six months of protests in the former British colony.
In the beginning, the demonstrations expressed the dissatisfaction of the population towards a controversial extradition bill (now withdrawn); over time they have become a broader movement calling for democracy in the territory and an independent investigation into alleged police abuses.
During a press conference held yesterday, the police chiefs said they had arrested 4,474 men and 1,548 women, aged between 11 and 84, in six months.
Among the charges used for detention there are illegal assembly, riot and possession of weapons or objects with the intent to offend. Of those arrested, 2,393 are students. The police also claim to have fired about 16 thousand shots of tear gas, 10 thousand rubber bullets, 2 thousand bags of beans and 1,850 sponge grenades since June.
Since the beginning of the protests, 493 police officers have been injured: 452 men and 41 women. By December 6, the Office for Internal Complaints Against the Police had received over 1,300 complaints.