Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong has been arrested and then released. He is being charged with participating in a rally last October.
Other activists have also been arrested for participating in protests last year.
Wong, 23, was arrested at the Hong Kong Central Police Station. He posted that on Twitter and was also confirmed by his lawyer. He is being charged with participating in a rally almost a year ago.
In the meantime, Wong has been released. His case will occur next week. He risks up to 6 years in prison.
Wong is also said to have violated the law prohibiting the wearing of a mask during demonstrations. That law was introduced during last year’s protest movement in Hong Kong.
This made it easier for the police to identify demonstrators. Later, the Anti-Mask Act was declared unconstitutional by the Hong Kong Court of Appeal. Now, the Covid-19 pandemic makes it mandatory to wear a mouth mask.
The protest movement was triggered by the plan for an extradition bill, which would make it easier to extradite Hong Kong dissidents to China.
China’s general strong political hold on Hong Kong was also denounced by the protesters. The protests continued for months and sometimes resulted in violence between police and demonstrators.
Joshua Wong started out as a student leader and became one of the faces of the Hong Kong protest. He and nine other activists are now being charged for participating in last year’s actions.
