We have urged the Hong Kong authorities to ensure that activists in Hong Kong are able to engage in peaceful demonstrations before, during and after the Olympic torch relay on Friday 2 May.

According to information received by Amnesty International, several activists planning to participate in the demonstrations were denied entry to Hong Kong - including a Danish artist and a number of Tibet campaigners. According to reports, the immigration authorities failed to provide any reasons for denying them entry. Failure to provide the rationale for such decisions heightens fears that they are being made arbitrarily.

On 26 April, Danish artist Jens Galschiot, who intended to take part in public activities around the torch relay, was denied entry to Hong Kong. Galschiot stated that the main purpose for his visit was to join with Hong Kong-based activists to paint in orange the 'Pillar of Shame' - a sculpture he had previously built to commemorate the victims of crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy movement. He also said he planned to take part in an alternative 'human rights torch rally'.

"The decision to deny Galschiot and other activists entry to Hong Kong has raised fears that the authorities may attempt to arbitrarily restrict peaceful protest more generally in Hong Kong during the torch relay," said Madhu Malhotra, Director of Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Regional Office in Hong Kong.

"The authorities have a right and duty to maintain public order for the relay, but this must not be used as an excuse to clamp down on acts of peaceful protest or otherwise restrict fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly."