IPCC To Release Protests Report On Friday

The Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) says it will release a report on Friday following its study into the force's handling of Hong Kong's many months of social unrest.

The report on the "Public Order Events arising from the Fugitive Offenders Bill since June 2019 and the Police Actions in Response” will cover key protest events from last June to early March this year.

These include the surrounding of Legco on June 12, the Yuen Long attack on July 21st, city-wide clashes on August 11 when a woman was apparently shot in the eye with a projectile, and the widespread protests of August 31 that culminated with the police storming Prince Edward MTR Station.

The report will also look at the controversial San Uk Ling Holding Centre, after numerous protesters who were detained there made allegations of abuse at the hands of police officers, with complaints that detainees were also denied medical treatment and access to lawyers.

The head of the police watchdog, Anthony Neoh, said on Wednesday that the report only looks at the "big picture" and won't examine any responsibility of individual police officers.

Neoh also said that the report is not designed to pacify people with grievances against the police.

Protesters and the city's pro-democracy camp say the IPCC, which doesn't have investigatory powers, has been in no position to probe the actions of the police during the unrest, and insist only an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality is acceptable.

In December, a panel of five overseas policing experts quit the "fact-finding study", saying the IPCC needs more powers if it is to conduct a meaningful probe.

But the government has continued to insist that the watchdog's study will help people understand the reasons for the turmoil Hong Kong has suffered.

"It also will provide the government with recommendations on how to move forward and also to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said back in August.