(UTv|COLOMBO) – Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been arrested in Hong Kong, according to a statement by the political party he co-founded.
The Demosisto party said he had been “forcefully pushed into a private minivan on the street” while walking to a train station yesterday.
He was then taken to police headquarters in Wan Chai, his party said.
Police have not yet commented.
Demosisto said he faces three charges, but it is not yet clear what they are.
The activist’s arrest comes a day ahead of a planned demonstration which has not received police approval.
Well-known independence campaigner Andy Chan said he too was detained by police, while trying to board a flight from Hong Kong to Japan on Thursday night.
Police said he was arrested on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer, according to local outlet HKFP.
Police said on Wednesday that some 900 people have been arrested since protests began in early June, triggered by a controversial extradition bill.
With the bill now suspended, the rallies have evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement demanding democratic reform and an investigation into alleged police brutality.
While the protests have been characterised as leaderless, Joshua Wong is a figurehead for many due to his leading role in the 2014 rallies known as Hong Kong’s “umbrella protests”.
He became the poster boy for the city’s resistance, as thousands marched demanding the right for Hong Kong to choose its own leader.
His latest arrest comes just weeks after he was released from prison in June, after serving time for his role in the Umbrella Movement. (BBC)
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