- The three teenagers were arrested along with six others in an operation to dismantle an attempt to plant a bomb around Hong Kong.
- The organization allegedly tried to create high-energy explosives from dormitory rooms.
- The organization has been charged with terrorist crimes.
On Wednesday, three Hong Kong teenagers were charged with terrorist crimes on suspicion of a bomb conspiracy. Among them, a 15-year-old boy exposed the deep political rift spreading in the financial center.
Hong Kong police arrested nine people in an operation on Monday, which they said had dismantled attempts to plant bombs throughout the city.
The organization allegedly tried to manufacture the high-power explosive TATP from the dormitory room, although the police said the conspiracy was dismantled before it was fully unfolded.
On Wednesday, the police charged three cell members who were 19, 17 and 15 years old.
The 15-year-old is the youngest person charged by a comprehensive national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong a year ago.
The three were refused bail and were remanded in custody awaiting further investigation.
At a court hearing on Wednesday, the 15-year-old girl’s lawyer said that her client had provided three hours of video testimony to the police without a lawyer present.
“The police told him that when his mother was there, he didn’t need a lawyer,” the lawyer said.
The lawyer also said that her client was pulled by the police’s hair and threatened him verbally, forcing him to unlock the phone.
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Six of the nine people arrested on Monday were middle school students, and the other three were drivers, a university faculty and a middle school staff member.
The remaining six people were released on bail.
After large-scale and often violent democratic protests in 2019 turmoil the city for months, the semi-autonomous Hong Kong is a polarized city.
China responded with authoritarian repression, playing a more direct role in the operation of the city and eliminating dissent.
The National Security Law fundamentally changed the political and legal structure of the city.
More than 120 people have been arrested in accordance with the law, and those convicted will face life imprisonment.
It successfully contained the protests, but many residents of this city of 7.5 million people still boil under Beijing’s rule.
