Organisers Lose Appeal Against TST Protest Ban

The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) has lost an appeal against a police ban on the march is was planning to hold on Sunday from Tsim Sha Tsui.

The protest was originally called to oppose the anti-mask law introduced at the beginning of the month under emergency powers.

But for many, the march to the West Kowloon high-speed rail station would also have been a show of support for CHRF convenor Jimmy Sham, who was brutally attacked by a gang of people in Mong Kok on Wednesday.

The police had cited fears of violence as their reason for banning the protest, and on Saturday the appeal board agreed with the force's decision.

"We didn't receive any clear reasons or judgement from the appeal board on the reasons why they maintain the decision of the police commissioner," said CHRF vice convenor Eric Lai.

"We sent an open letter to all the members of the appeal board to urge them to consider the social context and to consider the right of the people to protest. Their decision today, it seems, echoes the reasons of the police and they, to a certain extent, put our considerations, our demands in a lower priority."

The police have banned many protests in recent weeks, but a lot of them went ahead nevertheless.