Hong Kong police said they have made their first arrests in relation to violent protests on Monday when demonstrators sought to disrupt the 22nd anniversary of the territory’s handover from the UK to China and later stormed the city’s de facto parliament.
Police said they arrested 12 people over a “violent incident” on Monday outside the city’s legislature, where protesters had gathered to disrupt a flag-raising ceremony marking the 22nd anniversary of the handover.
Eleven men and one woman between the ages of 14 to 46 had been arrested for offences including possession of offensive weapons, unlawful assembly and assaulting a police officer, police said. The charges did not relate to the storming of parliament, which happened later that evening.