Experts Quit Hong Kong Police Probe

Team claims police watchdog lacks power and it is unfit in a society that values freedom and rights

- 

An international panel of experts hired to advise Hong Kong on the police response to huge pro-democracy protests announced Wednesday they were quitting, saying the city’s police watchdog was not fit for purpose ‘in a society that values freedoms and rights’.

The group’s damning conclusion is a blow to Hong Kong’s government, which has insisted its Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is capable of holding the force to account over snowballing claims of brutality.

“We ultimately concluded that a crucial shortfall was evident in the powers, capacity and independent investigative capability of IPCC,” the experts said.

Critics have long charged that the body lacks adequate powers, is stacked with pro-establishment figures and has been toothless when it comes to keeping the police in line.