Footage of a 12-year-old girl being tackled and pinned to the ground by Hong Kong police has sparked outrage as unrest continues to rock the region.
The family of the child says she had been buying art supplies on Sunday when she was apprehended by officers attempting to corral a crowd of protesters.
Footage of the arrest, widely shared in Hong Kong and across social media, shows the girl trying to dodge the police before being tackled by an officer. Several others then help to pin her to the ground.
It came as crowds of demonstrators participated in the largest street protest to take place since July 1, the first full day under the controversial national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong, a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
The law ensures the city has a legal framework to resolve what China deems as serious challenges to its authority, and comprises 66 articles. It criminalises any act of secession - breaking away from the country; subversion - undermining the authority of the central government; terrorism - acts of violence against its people; and collusion with foreign or external forces.
Speaking to Apple Daily, the girl's mother said she intended to sue and lodge a formal complaint following the arrest. She said her daughter and 20-year-old son had been out buying art supplies, and her daughter had scarpered from the police as she was scared. Both were fined under the city's laws related to gatherings amid the pandemic.
Authorities confirmed the arrest of a 12-year-old girl in a statement, saying the child had run in a "suspicious manner". It also said "minimum necessary force" was used to apprehend her.
"Police were concerned about youngsters participating in prohibited group gathering. Their presence at the chaotic protest scenes also endangers their own personal safety," it said.
In another statement, Hong Kong police said it welcomes complaints by those who feel they have been a victim of police misconduct.
"Police attach great importance to integrity. If any person considers he or she is affected by police misconduct, he or she may lodge a complaint to the Complaints Against Police Office. It will be handled in a fair and impartial manner according to established procedures."
Pro-democracy legislator Claudia Mo said the incident demonstrates how "unnecessarily jumpy [and] trigger-happy" Hong Kong police have become, The Guardian reports.
Sunday's demonstrations had been planned by a coalition of pro-democracy groups, marking the day the region's elections were meant to be held. In July, Hong Kong's chief executive Carrie Lam announced the elections would be postponed for one year due to the region's most recent outbreak of COVID-19.
Lam has been widely accused of using the pandemic as an opportunity to quell opposition.
On Sunday, the Hong Kong government condemned "unlawful and selfish acts" by those participating in unlawful assemblies amid the ongoing pandemic, praising police for taking "prompt and decisive actions" to arrest protesters. Almost 300 people were arrested, with about 2000 officers deployed ahead of the protests.
The latest data shows Hong Kong has recorded 4890 cases to date and 98 virus-related deaths.
Passed and imposed on June 30, the national security law has drawn strong criticism from democratic countries for its broadly defined text, providing authorities with the means to amplify its crackdown on opposition and unrest. The law has significantly affected the media, academia and pro-democracy citizens.
