'As world thanks medics, HK police abuse them'

UN experts have asked Beijing to explain how the arrests of volunteer medics at Hong Kong protests can comply with international human rights law. File photo: AFP

A surgeon who warned last year that Hong Kong police were adopting strategies "unheard of in civilised countries" by arresting medical workers at protests has welcomed a move by UN experts to flag up their own serious concerns about such "harassment and intimidation".



Three special rapporteurs and a member of the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention have asked China to explain the legal basis for such arrests and how they could be consistent with international human rights law.



British surgeon Darren Mann, who lives in Hong Kong, had brought international attention to the issue after writing a letter to The Lancet last November regarding what he had seen during the police siege of Polytechnic University and the arrests there of doctors, nurses and paramedics.



“It is perversely ironic that while the rest of the world shows its gratitude for the selfless work of healthcare professionals courageously battling Covid-19, the Hong Kong Police Force have been found to have harassed and arbitrarily detained humanitarian medical workers," Mann said on Wednesday, in response to the rapporteurs' letter to the Chinese UN delegation.



"You can’t 'clap for carers' when your hands are zip-tied behind your back,” he added.



Ivan Law, the vice chairman of the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance which recently led a strike demanding the borders be closed during the Covid-19 outbreak, welcomed the international spotlight on the issue, but said this was unlikely to make the police change their behaviour.



"They are now trying to make up some excuses to attack the medics, saying they are disguised protesters, things like this. I don't think this [UN letter] would change the police brutality towards protesters and also first-aiders," he said.



The director of the London-based International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, said the UN experts' response to allegations of serious violations of human rights against medical professionals in Hong Kong was very significant.



"Taken together with the previous letter by two other UN special rapporteurs, on the issue of teargas, these represent grave issues under international law and merit urgent attention and action from the international community," she said in a statement.



"Although our focus everywhere is on Covid-19, we must not allow these representations by the UN to the Chinese authorities to be swept under the carpet. There must be an independent investigation and action to hold those responsible accountable."



Meanwhile, Benedict Rogers, co-founder and chairman of UK-based Hong Kong Watch, also welcomed the UN move and reiterated his call for an independent inquiry into allegations of police brutality in the SAR.



"“We strongly welcome the UN experts’ representations to the Chinese authorities, which detail with the authority of the UN Special Procedures evidence of very grave violations of human rights by the Hong Kong Police. We urge the international community to take these allegations very seriously and to implement Magnitsky-style targeted sanctions on those responsible for protest abuses," Rogers said.



"We call for a full independent inquiry into police brutality in Hong Kong," he added.



In response to Mann's claims back in November, the SAR government had denied that the way police handled protesters at PolyU failed to meet international humanitarian standards, and said contrary to his account, Red Cross volunteers had been able to give first aid to those injured without delay.