He is one of the best-known faces of the pro-democracy mobilization in Hong Kong.

Joshua Wong was arrested on Thursday for "illegal assembly" during a demonstration in October 2019 in the former British colony, his lawyer said.

The 23-year-old activist said on Twitter that he was also accused of having, during this rally, violated "the draconian law prohibiting the wearing of masks" that the local government had taken to try to defuse the protest.

This text has since been deemed unconstitutional.

This arrest comes at a time when the city has been the target of a strong takeover of China since the end of June, through a very controversial law on national security which was a response to the political crisis of 2019. The port masks are now compulsory in public places in Hong Kong to fight Covid-19. 

Wearing a mask ... prohibited in 2019

But a year ago, it was the ban on masking the face that had helped to add fuel to the fire, when the former British colony had for four months been the scene of unprecedented protests since the handover in 1997. The local executive, which is aligned with Beijing, then intended to cut the rug under the feet of the demonstrators who marched with their faces hidden, and facilitate the work of the police.

Joshua Wong's lawyer said he was arrested when he came to check in at a police station, as part of a judicial review decided in another case that has not yet been tried.

"Wong is suspected of having participated in an illegal rally on October 5 last year, when hundreds of people marched to oppose the mask ban that the government decided on using the emergency rules of the colonial era, ”said Jonathan Man.

>> To see and read on France24.com: Joshua Wong, the face of the fight for democracy in Hong Kong

Local authorities had invoked emergency provisions dating from 1922, which he had not used since 1967, to ban the wearing of masks during demonstrations.

Thousands of people defied this ban on October 5, 2019 and marched in masks in the shopping district of Causeway Bay, on Hong Kong Island.

The announcement of the ban the day before had been the source of serious violence in the city between radicals and riot forces.

With AFP

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