Arrests – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

Legislators are given “the right to reject government-introduced budgets,” said Civil Dem Rights Front, a pro-democracy group. “In the primaries, candidates only exercised their right to debate their political stance, and voters were free to choose those who were in their favor.”

But Mr Tong, the cabinet member, said these rights could not violate national security. “At first sight,” he said, “it is the legislature’s right to veto the legislation,” but when you think about it more it is not. “

Deliberately vetoing proposals without actually considering them would constitute a violation of the legislature’s obligations, he added.

Officials have indicated that their work is far from finished. A senior police chief told reporters Wednesday that officials may make further arrests in connection with the primaries. The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government, Beijing’s official arm in Hong Kong, called for vigorous enforcement of the law.

“Only when the Hong Kong National Security Law is fully and accurately implemented and firmly and strictly enforced can national security, social stability and public peace in Hong Kong be effectively guaranteed,” the bureau said in a statement.

Perhaps the clearest sign of Beijing’s desire to exercise its power was who the authorities arrested.

As of Wednesday, those arrested under the national security law were mostly prominent activists or people who openly demonstrated against the government, such as a man who collided with police officers on a motorcycle at a rally, or students whom police said the police had called professional -Independence slogans.

Iranian authorities have arrested a number of people allegedly involved in the murder of the country’s top nuclear scientist last month near Tehran, a parliamentary adviser told an Iranian state broadcaster on Wednesday.

The adviser, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, did not say how many people had been arrested in connection with the death of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and did not reveal their identity, according to Al Alam News Agency.

“Those involved in this attack, some of whom have been identified and even arrested by security services, cannot escape the judiciary,” said Abdollahian, a former deputy foreign minister who is now an adviser to the President of Parliament. after a transcript of the interview. He added that the authorities would “react firmly to them and make them regret their actions”.

According to American and Israeli officials, Fakhrizadeh was seen as the driving force behind Iran’s secret nuclear weapons program, and the brazen assassination left Tehran in shock and embarrassment. The scientist was ambushed on a country road, although conflicting reports about the conduct of the assassination exposed tensions between rival factions in the Iranian government as each tried to shift the blame.

Shortly after the murder, at least three officials said Israel was behind the attack, and since then Israeli officials have all but publicly acknowledged the responsibility.

It remained unclear how much the United States might have known about the operation in advance, but the two allies have long exchanged information about Iran, particularly its nuclear program.

Mr Abdollahian said that the Iranian authorities believed the Israelis had help coordinating the assassination of Mr Fakhrizadeh, adding “there is no doubt” that there was also American involvement.