China approves arrest of 12 detained Hong Kongers

Chinese authorities have formally approved the arrest of 12 Hong Kong activists who were detained last month when they were trying to flee china fo Taiwan.

The 12 people were captured at sea in a speedboat on August 23. They have been held without charge in a detention centre in neighbouring Shenzhen ever since and barred from meeting lawyers selected by their families.

On Wednesday, the People's Procuratorate of Yantian District in Shenzhen said it had approved the arrests, Al Jazeera reported.

Hong Kong's Security Bureau confirmed that mainland authorities informed local police of Wednesday's approval, but declined to comment on families' complaints of lawyers being barred from visiting the detainees.

Families of the 12 said in a statement they were "shocked and concerned" by the approval.

Yesterday, The families of detained in mainland China rallied at Beijing's top office in the city on Wednesday, reiterating their demand that lawyers they hired should be granted access to their loved ones.

The foreign ministry in Beijing has declared that the group of young fugitives, some of whom were linked to last year's anti-government protests, were "elements attempting to separate Hong Kong from China."

According to earlier Hong Kong media reports, among the people arrested was pro-democracy activist Andy Li. Li is among the other pro-democracy activists including Agnes Chow and Jimmy Lai who were arrested on August 10 under the draconian National Security Law.

( With inputs from ANI )