Brutal attack on human rights defender Jimmy Sham
On 16 October 2019, at around 7:30p.m., at least four assailants wielding hammers and knives, attacked human rights defender Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit (岑子杰) on a street in the Mong Kok neighbourhood in Hong Kong. Jimmy Sham suffered injuries to his head, knees and elbows. He was left lying on the pavement bleeding from his wounds when police officers arrived on the scene. He is now in stable condition and recovering after receiving emergency treatment in a hospital.
Jimmy Sham is a human rights defender who advocates for democratic reform and equal rights for LGBT persons in Hong Kong. He is a member of the pro-democracy party, League of Social Democrats, and is running for a seat on the Sha Tin district council in the upcoming district elections next month. He is the current convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), a coalition of more than fifty civil society organisations working to promote democratic reforms and a wide range of human rights issues in Hong Kong. Since June, CHRF has organised several mass demonstrations against the Hong Kong government’s proposed extradition bill which would have allowed the transfer of prisoners from Hong Kong to mainland China, where they would be at high risk of ill-treatment in detention centres and unfair trials under a fundamentally flawed judicial system controlled by the ruling Communist Party of China. Despite the government’s announcement that the bill would be withdrawn, the protests have continued and the demands have expanded to include accountability for police violence and total democratic reform.
On 16 October 2019, at around 7:30p.m., at least four assailants wielding hammers and knives, attacked human rights defender Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit (岑子杰) on a street in the Mong Kok neighbourhood in Hong Kong. Jimmy Sham suffered injuries to his head, knees and elbows. He was left lying on the pavement bleeding from his wounds when police officers arrived on the scene. He is now in stable condition and recovering after receiving emergency treatment in a hospital.
Jimmy Sham is a human rights defender who advocates for democratic reform and equal rights for LGBT persons in Hong Kong. He is a member of the pro-democracy party, League of Social Democrats, and is running for a seat on the Sha Tin district council in the upcoming district elections next month. He is the current convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), a coalition of more than fifty civil society organisations working to promote democratic reforms and a wide range of human rights issues in Hong Kong. Since June, CHRF has organised several mass demonstrations against the Hong Kong government’s proposed extradition bill which would have allowed the transfer of prisoners from Hong Kong to mainland China, where they would be at high risk of ill-treatment in detention centres and unfair trials under a fundamentally flawed judicial system controlled by the ruling Communist Party of China. Despite the government’s announcement that the bill would be withdrawn, the protests have continued and the demands have expanded to include accountability for police violence and total democratic reform.
This is the second attack in less than two months on Jimmy Sham. On 29 August 2019, masked men attacked him and an acquaintence in a restaurant in the Kowloon district. The attack occurred on the same day that police had banned a demonstration that CHRF had planned to organise later that weekend. Jimmy Sham was unharmed and his acquaintence escaped with minor injuries. Three individuals have been arrested in connection with the August assault.
According to the CHRF, as Jimmy Sham was attacked with hammers and knives on 16 October 2019, a passersby tried to intervene. The assailants threatened them with knives and fled the scene in a vehicle, only after Jimmy Sham had suffered heavy injuries. At the time of the attack, Jimmy Sham was on his way to a CHRF meeting where the group was to discuss another mass rally planned for 20 October, for which the police issued a ban on 18 October.
Under Hong Kong’s Public Order Ordinance, organisers of public processions involving more than thirty people must notify police seven days in advance, and obtain a “notice of no objection” from the police before proceeding. In recent weeks, the police have objected to and banned a number of planned rallies or marches, including those organised by CHRF. Unlike mainland China, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) applies to Hong Kong. The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance with the treaty, said in 2013 that implementation of the Public Order Ordinance may facilitate “excessive restriction” on the right to peaceful assembly guaranteed by the ICCPR. The Hong Kong government’s invocation on 4 October 2019 of the colonial-era Emergency RegulatiDownload the Urgent Appealons Ordinance to enact a regulation prohibiting the use of face masks at both permitted and banned protests is grossly inconsistent with international human rights law and further undermines assembly rights.
In a public statement on 12 September 2019, following concerns about violence against protesters and human rights defenders in Hong Kong, four UN human rights experts reminded the Hong Kong government that it has obligations under the ICCPR to “protect the safety and rights of those who participate in assemblies and create an environment conducive to a diverse and pluralistic expression of ideas and dissent from government policy.”
Front Line Defenders strongly condemns the attack on Jimmy Sham and is deeply concerned by other incidents of physical attacks against human rights defenders, protesters, and journalists in Hong Kong, including the nighttime attack on protesters and bystanders by a group of over 100 men in and around a train station in Yuen Long on 21 July 2019. These attacks, combined with incidents of excessive use of force by police during public protests and the mask-banning regulation, create a chilling effect on all those who organise, support and participate in peaceful assemblies to promote and defend their human rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed under Hong Kong and international law.
