HK arrests three prominent activists in crackdown
Joshua Wong - the face of Hong Kong's umbrella movement - has been arrested, on suspicion of organizing illegal protests.
Two other prominent political activists in the city have also been arrested, as authorities clampdown on a wave of unrest that's gripped the city.
Wong is a pro-democracy icon but hasn't been a prominent figure in the current movement.
The recent protests so far have had no identifiable leaders.
But on Friday (August 30), Wong's political party Demosisto said he was pushed into a private car, and then escorted to the city's police HQ.
They say Agnes Chow, another one of its members, has also been arrested.
(Soundbite) (English) ISAAC CHANG, DEMOSISTO, SAYING:
"We believe that the high-profile arrests before the 31st of August protest is because they want to spread 'white terror' towards the Hong Kong protesters and Hong Kongers"
Police said both were arrested on suspicion of 'organizing and knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly'.
They said the third activist, Andy Chan, was arrested on suspicion of participating in riots and attacking police in July.
It comes after police banned a march for Saturday (August 31) a day that marks five years since Beijing ruled out universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
The organizer of the banned weekend march, Jimmy Sham, was attacked by two men on Thursday (August 29), armed with a knife and baseball bat.
Amnesty International issued a statement, saying: "The repeated harassment of pro-democracy activists, combined with police bans on demonstrations, has created a climate of fear for peaceful protesters."
Nearly 900 people have been arrested since June, as the embattled city heads into its fourth month of protests.
