Jul 1, 2020 - World

Hong Kong police make first security law arrest

Rebecca Falconer

Riot police (L) deploy pepper spray toward journalists (R) as protesters gathered for a rally against a new national security law in Hong Kong — Riot police deploy pepper spray as protesters rally against the new national security law in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Photo: Dale De La Rey/AFP via Getty Images

Hong Kong police announced on Wednesday their first arrest under the new security law as officers used pepper spray to break up a rally by pro-democracy protesters elsewhere in the city, images from the scene show.

Why it matters: The law, passed by Chinese lawmakers Tuesday, is a further encroachment on Hong Kong's independent legal system and the autonomy the territory had retained since the former British colony was returned to China in 1997.

Per Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian and Dave Lawler, the law "defines crimes such as terrorism and sedition broadly, but mandates harsh sentences — in many cases life imprisonment."

It'll be enforced without input from the judiciary.

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Hong Kong police make first security law arrest

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