Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong arrested

Prominent student activist Joshua Wong was arrested Friday morning in Hong Kong amid ongoing demonstrations in the city, according to a statement from his organization, Demosistō.

The group wrote in a Facebook post that Wong, 22, is being held on three charges after he was arrested while walking to a subway station.

Wong previously served time in jail for his role in Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy movement.{mosads} 

“He has now been escorted to the police headquarters in Wan Chai on the basis of three charges. We will continue to follow the incident,” Demosistō said.

Wong was released from prison in June — just as the current protests were beginning — after a two-month sentence for his involvement in the city’s 2014 Umbrella Movement.

His detention follows weeks of protests that have gripped Hong Kong since Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed a bill that would allow certain criminal suspects to be extradited to China. Amid massive protests, Lam said the bill was “dead” earlier this summer. 

Demonstrations continued after Lam’s announcement with participants calling on her to formally withdraw the bill and resign. Protesters have also called for a formal investigation into police brutality against demonstrators.

Wong has called for Lam’s resignation and been sharply critical of police tactics against the demonstrators.

The Hill has reached out to Hong Kong police for comment.

Wong’s arrest came one day after Jimmy Sham, an organizer for the Civil Human Rights Front, which has organized several of the protests, said he was attacked by two masked men in the Kowloon area of the city, according to Bloomberg.

Several men with iron bars, believed to be linked to organized crime, previously attacked demonstrators in a subway station.