Activists To Initiate Private Prosecutions Against British National In The Hong Kong Police For Allegedly Torturing Protesters

On August 10, 2020, a group of activists, including Luke de Pulford, British human rights activist, and Nathan Law, former legislator elected to the Hong Kong Legislative Council, announced that they would be initiating private prosecutions in British courts against senior British expats employed by the Hong Kong Police Force for their alleged involvement in torture on protesters.

Their public call for support states that “the people of Hong Kong have suffered sustained brutality at the hands of the Hong Kong Police Force. Despite clear evidence of excessive force, no officer has been disciplined. Many of those officers are British, and as such, they are subject to British law. After months of sifting through evidence, an international coalition of organizations and individuals, together with a top legal team, have determined that certain British expatriate police officers have a case to answer for torture – an offense in British law with universal jurisdiction.”

The authors of the initiative stress that the situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating. Victims of the alleged torture would not be able to get redress in Hong Kong due to the ongoing encroaching by Beijing. “In 2020, Beijing is again attempting to undermine those freedoms. In 2019 encroachment from Beijing sparked massive protests in 2019 against a proposed bill enabling the extradition of those in Hong Kong to mainland China, during which a large number of residents were hurt. As the world watched on, scenes of chaos and brutality unfolded on live television as the police unleashed an ever-increasing level of force against citizens who took to the streets in lawful protest. Accounts of atrocities that had occurred within the police cells were retold in interviews and news reports by those who had suffered them. Indisputably, this peaceful, law abiding society which has, for decades, managed its own affairs with a high degree of autonomy, now stands threatened by draconian laws, reduced freedom of expression and rule by fear.”

The authors of the initiative indicate that, having revived significant amounts of evidence documenting police brutality during protests in Hong Kong, “Hong Kong people have been subjected to torture, both on the streets and within police custody.” They further add that “a significant number of torture offenses appear to have been committed or directed by Senior Officers of British Nationality. It is apparent that the UK Courts are an appropriate forum to hold these individuals accountable for their actions and indeed, the only independent forum that could be used for this purpose.”

They refer to a growing body of evidence of arbitrary arrests, accounts of mistreatment in police stations, physical assaults, deliberate prolongation of suffering (long periods of being cuffed behind the back, allowing remnants of pepper spray to remain on the eyes and face), psychological intimidation (verbal assaults and degradation, threats of actual or implied mistreatment and sexual assault/ rape), sexual assault and rape.

The private prosecutions are intended to be brought under Section 134 of the UK’s Criminal Justice Act 1988 which provides that where a public official or person acting in an official capacity commits the offense of torture if in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, namely, he intentionally inflicts severe pain or suffering on another in the performance or purported performance of his official duties, he may be prosecuted for the crime of torture.

Currently, it is not known how many British members of the Hong Kong police are implicated in the alleged torture. However, as the reports of police brutality in Hong Kong have not resulted in any legal actions in Hong Kong, this may be the only avenue to justice.