I inlägget ”Reflektioner efter stormningen av Hongkongs parlament” för två dagar sedan, noterade jag risken att polisen medvetet lät hundratals demonstranter storma stadens parlament för att sedan kunna använda detta som ursäkt för att gripa dem eller på andra vis gå hårdare fram mot framtida protester.
Detta verkar vara precis vad som sker nu. I artikeln ”First arrest as Hong Kong police prepare citywide raids to hunt down protesters who stormed and vandalised Legislative Council complex”, beskriver South China Morning Post hur polisen har samlad in fingeravtryck och DNA från parlamentet och nu jagar hundratals aktivister:
Hong Kong police have made the first arrest in their hunt for hundreds of protesters who stormed and vandalised the city’s legislature.
(…)
Police were also preparing to launch citywide raids to arrest the dozens of protesters so far identified, the Post learned on Wednesday. To locate the suspects, officers from the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) and Identification Bureau worked for two days with government forensic experts at the Legislative Council building, which was trashed on Monday.
“Thousands of pieces of evidence including helmets, face masks and iron bars have been collected from the Legco complex [on Tuesday and Wednesday],” one law enforcement source said.
“Our experts will collect fingerprints from the evidence and carry out DNA tests on the evidence such as face masks.”
I artikeln noteras att ”en våg av arresteringar” snart ska inledas, samt att tiotals demonstranter redan nyligen har gripits som en följd av de senaste veckornas protester.
Dessa arresteringar beskrivs mer noggrant av bland annat Hong Kong Free Press och Hongkongs allmänna radionkanal RTHK. De båda uppmärksammade bland annat under gårdagen hur 8-9 personer just gripits för något som kallas ”doxxing”, det vill säga att ha publicerat personuppgifter online utan tillstånd.
Det ska ha handlat om att personerna i fråga publicerat namn och kontaktuppgifter på poliser som slagit tillbaka protesterna, vilket i sin tur lett till poliserna trakasserats med bland annat telefonsamtal.
Vidare rapporterar samma medier i dag att 12-13 personer redan gripits för antingen stormningen av parlamentet, eller de protester som ägde tum utanför polisens högkvarter i Wan Chai förra veckan.
Police have arrested 12 people connected to a protest on Monday morning, over what police said was a “violent incident” in the vicinity of the Legislative Council Complex in Admiralty.
The suspects – 11 men and one woman – ranged from 14 to 36 years of age, and were arrested for charges including unlawful assembly, assaulting a police officer, obstructing a police officer, possession of offensive weapons, contravening the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 and failing to carry identity documents.
(..)
Police also arrested a man in relation to protests on two separate dates: the Legislative Council demonstrations on the evening of July 1, as well as the protests at the police headquarters on June 21. The 31-year-old was arrested in Mong Kok on Wednesday for assaulting a police officer, criminal damage, forcible entry and behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place.
Earlier on Wednesday, police said they will “resolutely pursue the protestors for their illegal and violent acts” which took place on July 1.
Sammanfattningar av arresteringarna av demonstranter cirkulerar också på Twitter enligt nedan, där en användare under gårdagen kommit fram till 54 personer redan arresterats för den senaste tidens protester.
Det är alltså sannolikt att antalet stigit sedan dess, och sannolikt kommer stiga till flera hundra under en snar framtid:
From the tough talk emanating from #HK govt & police, it is possible that today’s arrests are the start of a major crackdown. Any note of conciliation toward protesters has disappeared since Carrie Lam’s 4am press conference on July 2 w Police Commissioner & 2 other top officials
— Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) July 3, 2019
Police have also arrested 6 in connection w pro-police rally of June 30, for possession of offensive weapons, assault & fighting in a public place. Video showed pro-police protesters attacking journalists & anti-extradition protesters & threatening women w sexual assault.
— Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) July 3, 2019
Just to remind, what protesters are demanding is an independent Commission of Inquiry into policing of ant-extradition protests. 35 NGOs, including international human rights orgs @amnesty & @hrw, have also called on the #HK govt to set up the commission. https://t.co/RfqO7aJ8Jn
— Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) July 3, 2019
Hope intl media are as interested in covering what appears to be an impending crackdown on #HK protesters & attempt by govt & police to avoid accountability as they are in the protests. That will be one of the few factors to make govt & police think twice about taking hard line.
— Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) July 3, 2019
This is what I've been able to piece together from media & police reports on number of people arrested in connection with #HK protests from June 9 to July 1. So far, in all, 54 arrested. Number expected to increase. Pls let me know if you have additional info not included here. pic.twitter.com/O0p6GEcHNp
— Kong Tsung-gan / 江松澗 (@KongTsungGan) July 4, 2019
Som tweetsen ovan noterar, så har alltså gripanden i samma omfattning inte ägt rum mot de tusentals demonstranter som på ett våldsamt vis gick ut och försvarade polisen tidigare i veckan.
Inte heller har någon fristående undersökning påbörjats mot de poliser som utövat våld mot demonstranterna, trots att flera fall av polisvåld noggrant dokumenterats av bland annat Amnesty.
Tweetsen ovan framhåller också vikten av att internationella medier, politiker och organisationer uppmärksammar dessa arresteringar som nu gradvis kommer att ske.
I artikeln ”‘What were they thinking?’ Hong Kong police tactics baffle the experts as legislature is trashed” (Hong Kong Free Press), diskuteras vidare varför polisen lät hundratals demonstranter obehindrat ta sig in i parlamentet.
Där uttrycker flera analytiker och tidigare chefer vid polis eller underrättelsetjänst sin skepsis bakom polisens motiv att plötsligt dra sig undan tillfälligt från parlamentet, som omringades av hundratals uppjagade ungdomar.
Samma ungdomar som nu alltså arresteras på löpande band.
RELATERAD LÄSNING:
”Hong Kong protests: police make first arrests after storming of parliament” (The Guardian)
”Authorities Begin Arrests in Hong Kong as Beijing Ramps Up the Rhetoric” (TIME)
”Hong Kong Protesters Take Stock as Police Announce More Arrests” (New York Times)
”Hong Kong police make first arrests since storming of legislature” (Nikkei Asian Review)
