Police in Hong Kong have arrested at least 14 veteran pro-democracy activists accused of joining unlawful protests last year.
Among those arrested were 81-year-old activist and former parliamentarian Martin Lee, and democracy advocates Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan and Au Nok-hin.
Police also arrested media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who founded the local newspaper Apple Daily.
Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum – a former MP from the Democratic Party – were charged in February over their involvement in a mass anti-government demonstration on August 31 last year.
Hong Kong was gripped by protests for seven months months as those opposing extradition legislation would march through the streets and set up road blocks with cars and bricks.
Campaigners also called for voting rights and an independent inquiry into police conduct.
The protests in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory exposed deep divisions between pro-democracy Hong Kongers and the Communist Party-ruled central government in Beijing.
The bill, which would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial, has been withdrawn. but the protests continued for more than seven months.
Hong Kong is run as part of the "one country, two systems" policy, where China allows certain areas to have a degree of autonomy from the autocratic control of the central government.
The area was run as a UK colony until 1997, when it was handed over China.
While the protests began peacefully, they increasingly descended into violence after demonstrators became frustrated with the government’s response.
The protestors feel that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has ignored their demands and used the police to suppress demonstrations.
The League of Social Democrats wrote in a Facebook post that its leaders were among those arrested, including chairman Raphael Wong
They were accused of participating in two unauthorised protests on August 18 and October 1 last year.
