'Injunction Seems To Give Police Special Privileges'

A barrister said on Monday that a court injunction prohibiting the unlawful release of personal information on police and their families gives people the impression that the force has special privileges.

Johnny So from the Progressive Lawyers Group questioned why the Department of Justice, which is supposed to serve the public interest, only applied for an injunction covering the police, and not others who have been doxxed, such as election officials and journalists.

Speaking on an RTHK programme, So said people fear they could easily get into legal trouble given the wide scope of the court order issued on Friday, and it could prevent them from taking photos of police in order to report suspected malpractice.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), Chris Yeung, noted that the media are not exempt from the court injunction, which also bans "harassment" of police officers.

Yeung said he hopes the HKJA can make representations in court next month to express journalists' concerns over the interim injunction when another hearing is held to decide whether it should be extended.