Hong Kong business tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested for suspected collusion with foreign forces, his aide has said.
Mark Simon said the businessman was held under the controversial national security law imposed by China in June.
Mr Lai has been a prominent supporter of the pro-democracy protests that erupted in Hong Kong last year.
In February, the 71-year-old who also holds UK citizenship was charged with illegal assembly and intimidation. He was later granted police bail.
According to local media, Hong Kong police have also entered the building of his media company, searching the offices.
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Police have confirmed that seven people were arrested on Monday on suspicion of breaking the national security law, but have not yet named Mr Lai.
The Monday arrests are the third wave of detentions under the new law. Mr Lai’s would be the highest profile case so far and the first involving someone who holds foreign citizenship.
Who is Jimmy Lai?
Mr Lai is estimated to be worth more than $1bn (£766m).
Having made his initial fortune in the clothing industry, he later ventured into media and founded the newspaper Apple Daily, which is frequently critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership.
He has also been himself an activist against Beijing’s increasingly tight grip on the Hong Kong. In 2019 he supported the reform protests and participated in the demonstrations.
When earlier this year he was charged for his involvement in those protests, Chinese state media dubbed him a “riot’s mastermind” who “has spread waves of hatred and negative information about the Chinese mainland day and night”.
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