MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2020) Hong Kong police have arrested five men and two women for "assisting" a suspect in the attack of a police officer on July 1, a senior police officer said during a press briefing on Friday.
"After investigation, the police have arrested five men and two women under the charges of assisting a criminal," Yau Kin-hung from the commercial crime investigation department said during the press briefing.
The officer explained that the seven people arrested were suspected of offering assistance to the suspect who was arrested earlier over the attack on a police officer on July 1.
Amid the mass protests over the national security law on July 1, a Hong Kong police officer was stabbed in the shoulder by an attacker who was able to flee the scene. The suspect was detained later in the airport when he tried to escape from the city.
China's new national security law, which entered into force on June 30, has been condemned by the Hong Kong opposition, as well as Western officials, who claim it would undermine the city's autonomy guaranteed during its transition from the UK to China. The new law has been met by a wave of protests in the city, as some residents fear their rights may be infringed upon.
Both Hong Kong's leadership and the central government in Beijing say the law would not affect residents' rights. Beijing maintains that the recent unrest in Hong Kong is a result of foreign interference and vows to respect the "one country, two systems" principle.
