Martin Lee and Albert Ho

Two prominent lawyers were among 15 public figures arrested in Hong Kong on April 18 for their alleged roles in organizing last year's political protests, prompting the Hong Kong Bar Association to criticize the move as one that "could be perceived as interference," in contravention of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the local Constitution.

The police arrested 15 people on suspicion of organizing or participating in unauthorized public assemblies in Hong Kong last summer and fall when pro-democracy demonstrations were at their height. The arrests marked the biggest roundup of prominent opposition figures in recent memory.

Among those arrested were Martin Lee, an internationally known barrister and founder of the Democratic Party, one of Hong Kong's main pro-democratic political parties, and Albert Ho, a solicitor and partner at his own practice who is also also a former chair of the Democratic Party and now leads the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, another opposition group.

The other prominent figures arrested included businessman and media tycoon Jimmy Lai and opposition politicians Leung Kwok-hung, Lee Cheuk-yan, Au Nok-hin and Yeung Sum.

In June 2019, Martin Lee, who is considered the most senior barrister in Hong Kong and was called the city's "father of democracy" when he co-founded the Democratic Party in 1994, led a legal community march in protest against a proposed law that would potentially allow the extradition of criminals to mainland China. The extradition bill controversy eventually led to violent clashes between the government and anti-government organizations that lasted for the rest of the year.

Ho also appeared at the lawyers' march and has been a vocal supporter of the protest movement.

The high-profile arrests came as Hong Kong continues its fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The spread of the virus quelled the huge street protests that had regularly taken place for at least six months last year, as people were forced to stay home to avoid contagion.

But the arrests April 18 were seen as another crackdown by pro-Beijing forces on the anti-government movement. The Hong Kong Bar Association cautioned against perceived increased interference in Hong Kong's local affairs by the Chinese government, saying it violated the "one country, two systems" principle established for Hong Kong when Great Britain returned the region to China in 1997.

The Hong Kong Bar issued a statement calling on Chinese authorities to refrain from interfering with Hong Kong law and said the comments by Beijing's representatives "could easily be perceived as interference" in contravention of Hong Kong's Basic Law, the local Constitution.

The central government's liaison office responded that as Beijing's designated representative in Hong Kong, the law prohibiting departments of China's central government from interfering in Hong Kong affairs did not apply.

That prompted the bar association to issue a second statement in which it strongly disagreed with the liaison office, citing the specific articles included in Hong Kong's constitution. It also said recent public statements have caused "deep public unease" and undermine confidence in the government's "commitment to the principle and practice of one-country, two-systems enshrined in the Basic Law."

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