Hong Kong police arrested 15 activists, including veteran politicians, a publishing tycoon and senior barristers, in raids on Saturday in the biggest crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement since the outbreak of mass protests last year, APA reports citing Reuters.
Among those detained on charges of illegal assembly were Democratic Party founder Martin Lee, 81, millionaire publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, 71, and former lawmaker and barrister Margaret Ng, 72, according to media and political sources.
In all, one serving and nine former legislators were arrested, including veteran activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum.
Democratic legislator Claudia Mo, who was not among those detained, said the city government, led by Chief Executive Carrie Lam, was trying “into introduce a ring of terror in Hong Kong”.
“They are doing whatever they can to try to silence, to take down, the local opposition,” Mo said, pointing to upcoming legislative elections in September in which democrats hope to win back veto power in the city assembly.
Hong Kong police superintendent Lam Wing-ho told reporters that 14 people aged between 24 and 81 were arrested on charges of organising and participating in “unlawful assemblies” on Aug. 18 and Oct. 1 and 20 last year. He did not identify the 14.
Those days saw big and at times violent protests across the city.
Five of the 14 were also arrested for publicising unauthorised public meetings on Sept. 30 and Oct. 19, Lam said.
Police sources later confirmed the arrest of Leung Yin-chung, the only serving legislator to be caught up in the raids so far.
They were all due to appear in court on May 18, but Lam said more arrests were possible. Some of those arrested on Saturday were later released on bail.
The raids mark the biggest crackdown on the pro-democracy movement since the beginning of the anti-government protests across the former British colony in June last year.
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