A Hong Kong police raid on a pro-democracy media organization and the arrest of seven people connected with it was aimed at seditious activity not the suppression of the media, the city government's leader said on Thursday.
About 200 police raided the Stand News office on Wednesday, froze its assets and arrested the seven current and former senior editors and former board members, for "conspiracy to publish seditious publications."
They were in police detention some 30 hours after their arrest, awaiting formal charges or release. Under Hong Kong law, police can detain suspects for a maximum of 48 hours.