Rally Demands Accountability From Police

About 400 people gathered outside the Legislative Council building on Sunday to demand accountability for the policing of recent anti-extradition protests, which they say involved excessive force.

Organiser the Civil Human Rights Front said the police went too far, especially on June 12, when officers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and bean-bag rounds at people calling for the government's extradition bill to be scrapped. The bill, which would open the way for extradition to the mainland, has been suspended.

Officials and police chiefs have urged members of the public to use the formal police complaints system to press their grievances, but participants in the rally said they lacked faith in the system.

"Of course the complaints system is not fair enough, and it's clear from the previous cases that in most cases they wouldn't be charged and police will be free from their responsibilities," said one participant, a recent graduate.

"I don't trust the complaints system, but I do hope that Hongkongers can stay calm to fight for the rights of the protesters,"

Police complaints are investigated by the force's in-house Complaints Against Police Office, which reports its activities to the Independent Police Complaints Council.

The council can ask the police to investigate further or reject its conclusions, but has no power to carry out its own investigations.

The IPCC said it had received 84 complaints about the policing of the anti-extradition protests as of Friday.