Police in Hong Kong arrested five bookstore workers on suspicion of breaches of the territory's national security laws during raids on two independent shops after customs officers seized a consignment of books shipped from overseas. File photo by Leung Man Hei/EPA-EFE
July 16 (UPI) -- Police in Hong Kong detained five bookstore workers on suspicion of breaches of the territory's national security law during raids on two independent shops.
The two men, aged 37 and 57, and three women, aged between 30 and 59, were arrested in the Mong Kok district of the city on Wednesday on suspicion of "intention to commit sedition" under the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, Hong Kong Police Force said in a news release.
They said the five were being detained under investigation. If convicted, they face a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
Police accuse the suspects of displaying items with seditious intent and selling publications with seditious content, specifically inciting hatred against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies.
