Hong Kong police force has just announced to import 3,932 sets of tactical suits from a French company Protecop. With its headquarters in Paris, Protecop is a defence manufacturer, who provides tailor-made protective equipment for police officers worldwide.

In July 2019, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the situation in Hong Kong and called for the European Union, its Member States and the international community to impose "appropriate export control mechanisms to deny China, and in particular, Hong Kong, access to technologies used to violate basic rights."

Countless reports show the city's police used excessive force during over the past seven months when suppressing movements in Hong Kong. According to Amnesty International's reports, the police deployed reckless and indiscriminate violence against pro-democracy protesters with arbitrary arrests, brutal beatings, torture in detention. The police's popularity rating also hit a record low in the latest poll. Apparently, the newly purchased tactical suits will be used in the bloody crackdown of democracy movements in the future.

If Protecop exports those tactical suits to notorious Hong Kong police force, it will be a complete violation of the resolution, and probably a stain on the company, and France as a whole. The world will probably cast doubts on the French government's determination in safeguarding human rights worldwide since the resolution was supported by the majority of European parliamentarians in the first place.

Therefore, Demosisto now invites the world to join our petition to call upon the French government to suspend the export of tactical suits to Hong Kong police. We also urge the European Commission to pass all necessary legislation to control exports to countries, including Hong Kong, that violate basic rights.