On Mon & Tue, police said 1,000-1,100 had been arrested, surrendered or had their details taken, but didn't disaggregate or give a precise time period for that figure (ie, only on Mon? incl the whole siege period?) or even make clear if these were just PolyU or also elsewhere.
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It appears hundreds've been arrested at PolyU since Sun & hundreds were arrested Mon in central Kowloon. Police have failed to clearly & precisely account for these. I call on
@hkpoliceforce to provide 1) an updated arrest # for 11/15-17, 2) provide arrest #'s for 11/18 & 11/19.Show this thread -
242 charged w 'riot' yesterday (11/20) re protest 11/18 at Nathan & Gascoigne Rds & Hau Fook St in Yau Tsim Mong. 242 is more than double the 235 protesters charged w 'riot' for all 5mo, 6/9 to 11/17. Now, at least 477 have been charged w 'riot'.https://thestandnews.com/politics/11-18-%E8%81%B2%E6%8F%B4%E7%90%86%E5%A4%A7-242-%E4%BA%BA%E8%A2%AB%E6%8E%A7%E6%9A%B4%E5%8B%95%E6%8F%90%E5%A0%82-3-%E4%BA%BA%E9%A0%88%E9%82%84%E6%8A%BC-%E5%85%AD%E6%B3%95%E9%99%A2%E8%99%95%E7%90%86%E8%87%B3%E6%B7%B1%E5%A4%9C/ …
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There were so many defendants, they were portioned out to 6 different courts. Hearings went on to the small hours of the morning. 3 were remanded in custody. Next hearings in March. Police, courts, prosecutors & media are all overburdened by sheer number of arrests & trials.
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By the way, fantastic work by
@StandNewsHK to report on those 242 protesters charged w 'riot' in 6 different courts. Stand News is a small news org doing excellent work & deserves our support. Somehow, they manage to be almost everywhere.Show this thread -
To give some sense of what it's like to be a defendant in one of these mass 'riot' trials: You're brought straight from jail to court w/in 48hrs. Obviously, the police has had no time to gather evidence on you individually, given the large number of defendants.
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So 'riot', at this point in the proceedings, is a blanket charge & the decision to charge such large numbers of people with 'riot' is political and fairly arbitrary. Basically, they're just saying 1) that was a riot & 2) you were there.
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My neighbor was initially arrested at the 9/29 Global Anti-totalitarianism protest in Admiralty & was among the 96 charged w 'riot' on 10/2 at West Kowloon Court (up to yesterday, the largest single-day number of people charged w 'riot' in
#HK history).Show this thread -
He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly & possession of an offensive weapon (can of spraypaint). Some time btw arrest & court appearance, the decision was made to change the charge to 'riot', something he wasn't informed of until hours before he was to appear in court.
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You go to court & you wait all day to be processed. No defendants box in any court in
#HK is big enough for these mass trials, so defendants are processed in batches of a couple dozen at a time, still squeezed into the defendants boxes.Show this thread -
After the initial hearing, most 'riot' defendants have been granted bail. (For example, yesterday 3 out of 242 were remanded in custody.) Then you wait months for your next hearing. This is because now, after charging you, police have to find some evidence to support the charge.
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A solid 'riot' prosecution in an
#HK court usually needs to 1) establish you were present at the scene of the 'riot' & 2) actively participated in a 'breach of the peace', usually meaning showing you did something violent, which can be as little as throwing a plastic water bottleShow this thread -
A 'riot' trial of a large number of defendants can be expected to take upwards of a year, & that doesn't include any eventual appeals. So it's hanging over your life a long time. It's often said the trial itself is a form of punishment.
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I know well about two dozen cases of people charged w 'riot'. In every case, I believe the charge to be inappropriate- they just happened to be present at an event arbitrarily labelled a 'riot'. But govt believes judges are 'law&order' & the burden of proof is light.
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Govt was tremendously successful in convicting defendants of 'riot' in the Mong Kok Chinese New Year 2016 trials. It's so confident enough it can get many convictions now that large numbers are being brought straight from jail to court before sufficient evidence has been gathered
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While the maximum punishment for 'riot' is 10yrs in prison, the median sentence for the Mong Kok 2016 convicts was 3yrs. One was sentenced to 7, one to 6. Even 3yrs is a very long time for a crime that doesn't even involve physically harming anybody.
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I believe the crime of 'riot' as it is constituted and invoked in
#HK should be abolished. It comes under the Public Order Ordinance which also must be reformed (UN & HRW have said as much for years) or scrapped because it gives too much discretion to police & is vaguely worded.Show this thread -
The problem w 'riot' is it makes an individual responsible for a collective event. If you assault someone, then charge you w assault. That is clear & pertains to the individual. 'Riot' holds you legally responsible for others' actions & has disproportionately severe consequences
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End of conversation
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