This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Protesters in Hong Kong closed tax, immigration and local government buildings, blockaded key roads through the city centre and massed in their thousands outside police headquarters to demand the release of detained activists and an apology for police brutality.

Friday’s was the fourth major demonstration in the city in less than two weeks, and although smaller than the others, the crowd was committed, still filling the streets for more than 15 hours after an early morning start.

Hong Kong has been electrified by the protests, initially called to oppose an extradition bill that would have allowed residents and visitors to be sent for trial in China’s opaque, Communist party-controlled courts.

After police used teargas, rubber bullets and pepper spray against protesters last week, organisers’ demands have expanded to include an investigation into the violence and an end to the government crackdown on demonstrators. The police headquarters was a focus for much of Friday’s protests.

“The police didn’t do justice to the citizens. They actually attacked us with teargas and unnecessary force,” said one young protester in the crowd outside. “We came here to tell the police we are not happy with what they did.”

Like most there, he was wearing a mask and didn’t want to be named. A roundup of activists, including arrests in hospitals, has left many wary of being identified in case they are targeted. At least five face charges of rioting which carry heavy sentences and protesters also want these dropped.

The rights group Amnesty International said an investigation using verified footage showed police had used unjustified force and broken international law. Violations included beating subdued protesters, firing rubber bullets at a protester’s head and using teargas on trapped crowds.

“Police officers appear out of control, placing peaceful protesters who posed no threat in danger of serious injury,” said Man-kei Tam, Amnesty’s Hong Kong director.

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Crowd chants included “Release them,” in support of the jailed activists, and “Evil police.” Opposition leaders including the recently released Joshua Wong gave speeches. A phalanx of hymn-singing activists even managed to temporarily stop a police van from entering.

Without a police permit to hold a demonstration, organisers had urged people to turn up early outside government offices to “picnic, sing, stroll, watch the turtles and keep off the rain”, all barely veiled calls to political action.

The scale of public anger over the extradition bill and heavy-handed policing has already forced the Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, to publicly apologise and suspend the legislation.

Critics fear that the law would fatally damage the territory’s economy and undermine free speech and religion. Some tycoons have already started moving assets abroad or backed away from deals, the New York Times reported, although few spoke out publicly until the protest movement took off.

Lam has said the law is almost as good as dead, but protesters and opposition leaders are keeping up the pressure because they fear the government could take up the legislation again once public anger is defused.

A pro-Beijing legislator suggested on Friday it could be reintroduced within months, although her party distanced itself from the claim.

“I originally didn’t support this,” said a 70-year-old man watching Friday’s protests. He gave his name as Kava. “But peaceful protests are not working so there is nothing else that the people can do.”

The early crowd, just a few hundred strong at the 7am start time, gathered by police headquarters and the legislative council. As numbers grew, groups shut off several roads, blockaded police into their own headquarters and later swarmed to government office buildings.

In the lobbies of Immigration Tower and Revenue Tower protesters held sit-ins until office workers were sent home at about 3pm and they moved on to other locations.

Widespread public outrage over the police violence helped spur a record 2 million people – over a quarter of the city’s population – on to the streets for an entirely peaceful protest on Sunday.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A woman waves the union jack during a protest near the government headquarters in Hong Kong Photograph: Héctor Retamal/AFP/Getty Images

In response, authorities appeared to have taken a softer approach to crowd control on Friday. The legislature was closed for the day, and there was only a small police presence in the surrounding area.

Police in riot gear stared out for hours at the hostile crowd outside their headquarters, and periodically warned them the gathering was illegal, but did not try to break it up.

Opposition leaders at the protest called on the crowds to stay calm. “Look after those around you. If the police don’t use their batons, then we don’t take action, OK?” said the politician and novelist Roy Kwong Chun-yu.