ITUC ITUC-AP letter to Carrie Lam on the arrest of Lee Cheuk Yan

In this letter, the ITUC and the ITUC-AP condemns the arrests of Lee Cheuk Yan, General Secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), an affiliate of ITUC-AP, and two other democrats, Yeung Sum and Jimmy Lai. Lee, Yeung, and Lai face charges of ‘unlawful assembly’ for their participation in the public rally to oppose the extradition bill amendment. The UN Human Rights Committee has repeatedly urged the Hong Kong government to revoke the prior notification to public assemblies and excessive restrictions under the Hong Kong Public Ordinance for contravention with Art. 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The ITUC and the ITUC-AP urges the Hong Kong government to respect the peoples’ right to freedom of assembly, to drop all criminal charges against Lee Cheuk Yan, Yeung Sum, Jimmy Lai, and all the peaceful protesters associated with the anti-extradition bill protests, and to lift all restrictions on peaceful assemblies and ensure that peaceful assemblies can be conducted without police interference.