Jimmy Sham, leader of a pro-democracy group in Hong Kong and Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) convenor, was left lying in his own blood after being beaten by a masked group armed with hammers.
The attack occurred on Wednesday at around 7:30 p.m. on Arran Lane in Tai Kok Tsui as he was heading to a CHRF meeting in Mong Kok, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
BREAKING: Within 24 hours after US House passing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, Jimmy Sham, the convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front and candidate of District Council Election, was chopped and severely wounded by 4 masked persons this evening. pic.twitter.com/ys4pU98fRY
— Demosistō 香港眾志 😷 (@demosisto) October 16, 2019
Sham was attacked by six or seven masked people armed with hammers. Not all of the attackers were of Chinese ethnicity, Shanghaiist reported.
After the attack, the suspects left Sham covered in blood on his arms, head and the road where he was assaulted.
Just in: This video is circulating online. It shows that a police officer is stepping on the bloodstains which CHRF convenor, Jimmy Sham, allegedly left on the scene. Police confirmed 6-7 people took part in a fight in a public space at 7.40 pm in Mong Kok. #antiELAB #AntiMaskLaw pic.twitter.com/sOe27WfNjE
— Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) October 16, 2019
He was taken to the nearest hospital, Kwong Wah Hospital, by an ambulance and was conscious and reportedly able to speak.
“During the attack, bystanders tried to save [Sham], but the assailants threatened them to stop them from doing so… When Jimmy Sham was taken onto the ambulance, he told me: ‘five demands, not one less,’” Sham’s colleague, Figo Chan, said.
“Don’t think that you can do anything to stop us from going out onto the streets, and fighting for freedom and human rights.”
Jimmy Sham was taken to Yaumatei’s Kwong Wah Hospital on Wednesday evening, a short distance from the scene of the attack in Mong Kok.
In full: https://t.co/I0uhWsBEOg
Photo: Stand News. #hongkong pic.twitter.com/qXydyBg3T5
— Hong Kong Free Press (@HongKongFP) October 16, 2019
This isn’t the first time Sham has been attacked by a masked group. In August, he was attacked by several men with a knife and baseball bat after CHRF applied an organized rally with the Hong Kong government.
Meanwhile, the CHRF strongly condemns the latest attack on Sham.
“The Civil Human Rights Front strongly condemns the acts of the perpetrators. It is not hard to link this incident to a spreading political terror in order to threaten and inhibit the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights,” the Front said.
Featured Image via Twitter / demosisto (Left), YouTube / Hong Kong Free Press (Right)
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