Pro Democracy Activism

Hong Kong media reported that 53 pro-democracy activists have been arrested in connection with the unofficial primaries held last year by opposition forces ahead of the election to the Legislative Council, Hong Kong's parliament, which was later canceled due to the Corona pandemic. According to the report, those arrested were accused of endangering the state by participating in the primaries and the goals pursued there, and thus of violating the security law introduced at the end of June.

Shortly after the verdict against Joshua Wong and two of his comrades-in-arms the media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, another prominent supporter of the Hong Kong democracy movement has been sent to prison. He is accused of fraud and is now expected to remain in detention pending a planned court hearing in April.

Joshua Wong has been sentenced to thirteen and a half months in prison, and the co-defendants Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam have been sentenced to ten and seven months in prison, respectively. This was decided by a court in Hong Kong's Kowloon district. The prosecution had accused the three of having participated in an unauthorized demonstration last year against the growing influence of the Chinese leadership in Hong Kong.

During a trial facing charges relating to pro-democracy protests outside Hong Kong police stations the three activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam have pleaded guilty to the charges.

According to local media reports, Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to organizing and inciting the unauthorized assemble but not participation due to missing evidence by the prosecution. He could face up to five years in prison if convicted under the charges he pleaded guilty for.

Sentencing is expected for next week.

Before the start of new protests by the Thai democracy movement, head of government Prayut Chan-o-cha has branded the demonstrations as "illegal" and announced determined action against the activists. The authorities must bring the protests under control, Prayut said in parliament on Monday.

Pro-democracy students wanted to march in front of the German embassy in Bangkok on Monday afternoon in protest against King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Thursday in Bangkok defying the authorities that had issued a decree banning demonstrations. The pro-democracy demonstration eventually dispersed several hours after the 6 pm curfew.

The government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha has been the main target of the demonstrations, but protestors have also aimed at Thailand's monarchy.

Following violent protests, the electoral authorities in Kyrgyztan have annulled the results of the parliamentary elections. After only four out of 16 parties that were eligible to vote for in the elections passed the threshold of 7% for representation in the parliament protests had broken out.

Out of these four parties three have close ties to the current president of Kyrgyztan Sooronbai Jeenbekov who accused that "certain political forces" are now trying to illegally seize power.

After reporting to a police station in Hong Kong, pro-democracy activist and politician Joshua Wong (Huang Zhifeng) has been arrested for participating in an illegal assembly on October 5 in 2019. In addition he has been charged with violating the anti-mask law in 2019.

For the fifth weekend in a row, protesters took the streets in Belarus against President Alexander Lukashenko under the slogan "We won’t let him sell the country." According to news agencies, at least 100,000 people joined the rally in Minsk, with Police claiming they had detained over 400 people in the city.

The Russian Government has stepped up support, offering to potentially restructure Belarusian debt, and providing banking liquidity. It has also said Russian riot police could be made available if needed.

Lukashenko will meet Vladimir Putin Monday in the Russian resort of Sochi. It will be their first face-to-face encounter since Belarus’s presidential election on August 9.

The Belarusian police have at least arrested 100 people that protested against the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukaschenko. Across the country, tens of thousands of people have gotten to the streets despite warnings by Lukaschenko to join the opposition's pro-democracy protests.

The opposition leader Swetlana Tichanowskaja had called for a "march of unity".

Around 100 people were arrested in Hong Kong on Sunday while protesting against delayed legislative elections. Elections were supposed to happen on September 6th but were allegedly postponed due to the Coronavirus.

During a speech where Lukashenko addressed workers at a tractor plant stated that "we held elections already. Until you kill me, there will be no other elections".

The Belarusian state TV has aired some footage of the speech which showed workers yelling "go away".

The workers of the main Belarusian state television channel BT have taken an open position against Alexander Lukashenko by joining the strikes that are ongoing in the country following the elections.

In addition, the television channel OHT has aired a segment that shows Lukashenko as he intends to give a speech in front of workers, but they chant in protest against him.

In the biggest anti-government demonstration since the coup in 2014, over 10,000 Thai protestors have moved to the street. Over the past months students had started publically voicing criticism against the powers of the monarchy and the government.

The student activist Patsalawalee Tanakitwiboonpon addressed the crowd with the demand to get "a new election and a new parliament from the people". Opposition parties claim that the elections in 2019 had been under conditions that ensured that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stayed in power.

The Belarusian state news agency Belta has reported that Lukashenko stated Putin will help him if requested. As Belarus sees continued protests against President Alexander Lukashenko following the elections on Sunday, Lukashenko has now stated that if he requests help to secure the safety of the state, Putin will help.

Putin has yet to confirm the claim and it is unclear if the help would be to shut down protests or only in case of an external threat.

Lukashenko has also been quoted that the consequence for state workers that strike should be to fire them.

During the day thousands of Belarusians have protested peacefully. Workers all across the country have gone on general strike including hospital, metro and factory workers.

Videos have surfaced that show police convoys apparently leaving the area around the independence square in Minsk. Lukashenko has appeared on television claiming that outside forces from Poland, Netherlands, Ukraine, and Russia have infiltrated the country in order to spark protests and destabilize it. He ordered all people to stay in their homes and not go outside.

The interior ministry in Belarus has published a statement regarding the use of police force in the ongoing protests following the election on Sunday.

It states that "warning shots did not stop" the protestors and that "to protect the lives and health of officers, firearms were employed. One of the assailants is injured". According to the official numbers from the ministry over 1,000 people were arrested in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday taking the number of total arrested people to at least 4,000.

As the internet is still partially shut down in Belarus, information is scarce but one video shows arrested people being held lying face down outside on a floor at a police station in Minks. Other videos show police hitting and ramming cars as the protests escalate further.

After filing a formal complaint with the Belarusian Central Election Commission to demand a recount of the votes in the election, the leader of the opposition Svetlana Tikhanovskaya hasn't been heard of for several hours. During that time the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania had voiced concerns regarding her security.

Her headquarter has now announced that she has gotten in touch and that "everything is fine" as protests throughout Belarus are still ongoing and have turned violent.

The Hong Kong Police Force has announced via their Twitter account that nine people have been arrested for alleged breaches of the national security law.

One of the arrested people is the freelance journalist Wilson Li who works for the UK-based television channel ITV. A spokesperson from ITV News has stated that: "We can confirm that Wilson Li works for ITV News in a freelance capacity. We are concerned to hear of his arrest and are urgently seeking clarification of the circumstances."

In addition to the arrests, the Hong Kong Police Force has raided and searched the office the media outlet Apple Daily.

The Hong Kong police have arrested Jimmy Lai on grounds of the new national security law in Hong Kong. According to a close aid of his, he has been arrested at 7am and lawyers have been sent to the police station.

The news agency AFP has stated that a police source has stated that Lai had been arrested for the alleged collusion with foreign forces and fraud. His house has been searched by the police, as well as the house of his son. Multiple other members of his group have reportedly been arrested.