A pro-democracy protester is arrested by police for committing “unlawful assembly” in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, on Wednesday night. Photograph: Alex Hofford/EPA
Hong Kong police announce arrest of 12 protesters
Hong Kong police say they arrested 12 protesters who were blocking several roads in the Mong Kok neighborhood overnight on Wednesday as pro-democracy demonstrators returned to the site hundreds had occupied for more than two months.
Police said in a statement on Thursday that they had used pepper spray and batons to break up the protest and arrested demonstrators on charges ranging from assaulting a police officer to failing to produce proof of identity. The statement said two police officers were injured in the operation.
Thousands of protesters had occupied three busy neighborhoods to demand that residents of the semi-autonomous city be allowed to elect their top executive in 2017 from an open list of candidates. Chinese officials are requiring that a committee believed friendly to Beijing select the candidates.