One of Hong Kong’s most prominent human rights defenders was arrested by city police on Tuesday on alleged witness tampering, a police source told AFP.
Albert Ho already faces up to 10 years in prison for “inciting subversion” under the national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 after pro-democracy protests in the city were at times violent.
He is accused this time of “disturbing witnesses” while on bail, said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
His trial for incitement to subversion is ongoing and Mr Ho was released on bail in August after serving almost a year in prison. The conditions of this release include, in particular, the prohibition of statements that pose a threat to national security.
Violation of these rules can result in immediate arrest under Hong Kong law.
The 71-year-old lawyer once ran the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, a group that for more than 30 years held annual vigils to commemorate the deadly 1989 Tiananmen Square raid.
Albert Ho’s arrest is the latest in a series that also includes arrests of his brother Fred Ho under the National Security Act. The latter, also a lawyer, represented labor rights defender Elizabeth Tang Yin-Ngor.
Ms. Tang, secretary-general of the International Domestic Workers Federation, was arrested on suspicion of “collaborating with foreign forces.”
She was also released on bail, but her sister and Fred Ho were also arrested on suspicion of conspiring to corrupt the judiciary.
They have since been released on bail.