Hong Kong’s Joshua Wong to plead guilty to protest charges

Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said Monday that he plans to plead guilty to charges related to a demonstration outside police headquarters during anti-government protests last year.

Ahead of a court hearing Monday, Wong said that he and fellow activist Ivan Lam would both plead guilty to organizing, taking part in and inciting protesters to join an unauthorized protest outside police headquarters in Wan Chai last June. Both Wong and Lam were members of the now-disbanded Demosisto political party.

“I am persuaded that neither prison bars, nor election ban, nor any other arbitrary powers would stop us from activism,” Wong said.

Hong Kong activists, from right, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow arrive at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. The trio appear at court for their trial as they face charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

“What we are doing now is to explain the value of freedom to the world, through our compassion to whom we love, so much that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of our own. I’m prepared for the thin chance of walking free.”

Those found guilty of taking part in an unlawful assembly could face as long as five years in prison depending on the severity of the offense.

Wong rose to prominence as a student leader during the 2014 Umbrella Movement pro-democracy protests and is among a growing number of activists being charged for various relatively minor offenses since Beijing in June imposed a sweeping national security law on the territory that has severely restricted political speech.

Hong Kong activists, from right, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow arrive at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. The trio appears at court for their trial as they face charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Pro-democracy supporters have said the legal charges are part of a campaign to harass and intimidate them.

Lam, who also spoke ahead of the court hearing, said he too was prepared to be jailed.

Wong wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday that he and Lam had decided to plead guilty after consulting with their lawyers. The two previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow arrives at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam appear at court for their trial as the trio faces charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Another activist, Agnes Chow, has already pleaded guilty to charges of inciting others and taking part in the protest.

“If I am sentenced to prison this time, it will be the first time in my life that I have been in jail,” Chow wrote on her Facebook page on Sunday.

“Although I am mentally prepared, I still feel a little bit scared. However, compared to many friends, I have suffered very little. When I think of this, I will try my best to face it bravely,” she wrote.

Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow arrives at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam appear at court for their trial, as the trio faces charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Hong Kong activists, from right, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow arrive at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. The trio appears at court for their trial as they face charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Hong Kong activists, from right, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow arrive at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. The trio appears at court for their trial as they face charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow arrives at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam appear at court for their trial, as the trio faces charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Hong Kong activists, from left, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow arrive at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. The trio appears at court for their trial as they face charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

Hong Kong activist Agnes Chow arrives at a court in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 22. 2020. Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam appear at court for their trial, as the trio faces charges related to the besieging of a police station during anti-government protests last year. (AP PhotoVincent Yu)

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Saudi warplanes have reportedly struck on Friday forces in southern Yemen backed by the United Arab Emirates, a separatist leader says.

This comes as a Saudi-led operation attempts to take over camps of the Southern Transitional Council, or STC, in the governorate of Haramout that borders Saudi Arabia.

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE rose after the STC moved last month into Yemen’s governorates of Hadramout and Mahra and seized an oil-rich region. The move pushed out forces affiliated with the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces, a group aligned with the coalition in fighting the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen accused the head of the STC of blocking a Saudi mediation delegation from landing in the southern city of Aden.

The STC deputy and former Hamdrmout governor, Ahmed bin Breik, said in a statement that the Saudi-backed National Shield Forces advanced toward the camps, but the separatists refused to withdraw, apparently leading to the airstrikes.

Mohamed al-Nakib, spokesperson for the STC-backed Southern Shield Forces, also known as Dera Al-Janoub, said Saudi airstrikes caused fatalities, without providing details. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim.

Al-Nakib also accused Saudi Arabia in a video on X of using “Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda militias” in a "large-scale attack " early Friday that he claimed sepratists were able to repel.

He likened the latest developments to Yemen’s 1994 civil war, “except that this time it is under the cover of Saudi aviation operations.”

Salem al-Khanbashi, the governor of Hadramout who was chosen Friday by Yemen's internationally recognized government to command the Saudi-led forces in the governorate, refuted STC claims, calling them “ridiculous” and showing intentions of escalation instead of a peaceful handover, according Okaz newspaper, which is aligned with the Saudi government.

Earlier on Friday, al-khanbashi called the current operation of retrieving seized areas “peaceful.”

“This operation is not a declaration of war and does not seek escalation,” al-Khanbashi said in a speech aired on state media. “This is a responsible pre-emptive measure to remove weapons and prevent chaos and the camps from being used to undermine the security in Hadramout,” he added.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen demands the withdrawal of STC forces from the two governorates as part of de-escalation efforts. The STC has so far refused to hand over its weapons and camps.

The coalition's spokesperson Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said Friday on X that Saudi-backed naval forces were deployed across the Arabian Sea to carry out inspections and combat smuggling.

In his post on X, the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, said the kingdom had tried “all efforts with STC” for weeks "to stop the escalation" and to urge the separatists to leave Hadramout and Mahra, only to be faced with “continued intransigence and rejection from Aidarous al-Zubaidi," the STC head.

Al-Jaber said the latest development was not permitting the Saudi delegation's jet to land in Aden, despite having agreed on its arrival with some STC leaders to find a solution that serves “everyone and the public interest.”

Yemen’s transport ministry, aligned with STC, said Saudi Arabia imposed on Thursday requirements mandating that flights to and from Aden International Airport undergo inspection in Jeddah. The ministry expressed “shock” and denounced the decision. There was no confirmation from Saudi authorities.

ِA spokesperson with the transport ministry told the AP late Thursday that all flights from and to the UAE were suspended until Saudi Arabia reverses these reported measures.

Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war for more than a decade, with the Houthis controlling much of the northern regions, while a Saudi-UAE-backed coalition supports the internationally recognized government in the south. However, the UAE also helps the southern separatists who call for South Yemen to secede once again from Yemen. Those aligned with the council have increasingly flown the flag of South Yemen, which was a separate country from 1967-1990.

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Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.

Southern Yemen soldiers of Southern Transitional Council (STC) at a check point, in Aden, Yemen, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo)