21 May 2020

Mr Ignacio Cassis
Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Switzerland

Dear Mr Ignacio Cassis,

Stop the Export of Crowd Control Weapon and Firearm to HKPF

We write to draw your attention about the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is purchasing pepper spray gun from a Swiss manufacturer, Piexon, as part of the police’s crowd control weapon. According to news report of a local media in Hong Kong, TVB News, HKPF’s Special Tactical Squad officers will be equipped with this Swiss-made pepper spray gun next month. [1]

We hereby express our grave concerns about the introduction of this pepper spray gun with regard to its adverse impact to the human rights of people in Hong Kong, and the high risk of injuries to be caused by the irritant jet of the gun.  We would like to point out that HKPF has a bad reputation in arbitrarily using pepper sprays in an excessive, disproportionate, and indiscriminate manner regardless of the necessity. Reports have shown that citizens[2], protestors[3], lawmakers[4], journalists[5], and first aiders[6] were attacked by police with pepper spray at close range or at the scene without any aggression encountered. In an alarming case, a police officer even shot pepper ball projectiles at protestors from the back at close range and in an automatic manner[7].

According to Piexon, this Swiss-made pepper spray gun can eject irritant with a jet velocity up to 80 meters per second and the safety distance of using this weapon is at least 1.5 meters. It strikes our attention and concern very much, provided that the HKPF has been consistently ignoring the proper and safe way to use different less-lethal weapons on various occasions [8] ever since the social unrest arose in June 2019. The consequence of having equipped the HKPF with a more advanced model of weapon could be disastrous, which we trust that this is not the result the Switzerland government would want to venture in associating with. 

As of 20 May 2020, the Hong Kong Government and the HKPF did not conduct any public consultation or disclose details of this pepper spray gun to the public and the Legislative Council, including the impact on human body, and guidelines of the weapon.

In light of the deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong, we are grateful the international community is making effort to protect human rights of the people of Hong Kong. In June 2019, the UK Government announced that they would suspend export licences for crowd control equipment to Hong Kong until “concerns raised on human rights and fundamental freedoms have been thoroughly addressed.”[9] In July 2019, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Hong Kong, calling its member states and the international community to “work towards the imposition of appropriate export control mechanisms to deny China, and in particular Hong Kong, access to technologies used to violate basic rights.”[10] In addition, the US House of Representatives passed the PROTECT Hong Kong Act to ban the export of tear gas and other crowd control equipment from the US to Hong Kong in October 2019.[11]

We sincerely hope that the Switzerland, as a democratic country upholding and respecting human rights, would stand with the people of Hong Kong by suspending the export of pepper spray gun, crowd control weapon, and firearm to HKPF, in order to prevent further deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong.

Signatory organizations
Civil Rights Observer                 Sounds of the Silenced

Note:
[1] Police is mobilising their Regional Response Contingent in response to protests (據悉警方各總區應變大隊今起逐步重組 應付未來或現公眾活動), TVB News. https://bit.ly/2Tdrwwv (Chinese Only)

[2] Police used pepper spray repeatedly towards the face of an unarmed man(警察瘋狂近距離噴射胡椒水), Apple Daily.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2328603267392842

[3] Police repeatedly fired pepper spray and used baton against fleeing and unarmed protestors, Piu Siu To (a raido talk show host).
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3292236184123508

[4] Hong Kong police deny wave of misconduct accusations, including arson, grinning officers and improper undercover work, South China Morning Post.
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3031042/hong-kong-police-deny-wave-misconduct-accusations-including
(See video “A HK police officer suddenly pepper sprayed legislator Chu Hoi-Dick’s face when Chu’s asking police to stop their violence”, Demosistō. 
https://twitter.com/demosisto/status/1178199807682203648?lang=en)

Officer removed lawmaker’s goggles to pepper spray him as he displayed ‘passive resistance,’ Hong Kong police say, Hong Kong Free Press.
https://hongkongfp.com/2020/01/02/officer-removed-lawmakers-goggles-pepper-spray-displayed-passive-resistance-hong-kong-police-say/

[5] HK police slammed for attacking journalists, Asia Times.
https://asiatimes.com/2020/05/hk-police-slammed-for-attacking-journalists
(See video “Police’s violent intervention in journalistic work in Mong Kok” (記者旺角合法採訪遭警方粗暴干預), Ming Pao. https://youtu.be/qy22lfaNkrs)

[6] Police used pepper-spray continuously against journalists and first-aiders in Mong Kok (警旺角狂向記者救護噴椒), Apple Daily.
https://s.nextmedia.com/apple/a.php?i=20200120&sec_id=4104&s=0&a=20847233 (Chinese Only)

[7] Hong Kong police shoot projectiles at close range in Tai Koo, as protester suffers ruptured eye in TST, Hong Kong Free Press.
https://hongkongfp.com/2019/08/12/hong-kong-police-shoot-projectiles-close-range-tai-koo-protester-suffers-ruptured-eye-tst/

[8] “Use of “Less-lethal” weapons and other misconduct by Hong Kong Police Force in the context of the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill protests”, Sounds of the Silenced. 
www.hkcro.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Use_of_“Less_lethal”_weapons.pdf

[9] Foreign Secretary calls for robust and independent investigation into the violent scenes in Hong Kong.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-calls-for-robust-and-independent-investigation-into-the-violent-scenes-in-hong-kong

[10] European Parliament resolution of 18 July 2019 on the situation in Hong Kong (2019/2732(RSP)).
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2019-0004_EN.html

[11] H.R.4270 - Placing Restrictions on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology to Hong Kong Act.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4270