Cardinal Joseph Zen has been released on bail hours after he was arrested by the authorities in Hong Kong, according to media reports.
The reports emerged shortly after the Vatican said that it was concerned to hear of the 90-year-old cardinal’s arrest on 11 May.
The Financial Times reported that the cardinal was released on bail from Chai Wan Police Station on Hong Kong island late on Wednesday.
The former Catholic bishop of Hong Kong was reportedly detained in his role as a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which helped pro-democracy protesters to pay their legal fees.
Zen is an outspoken supporter of the pro-democracy movement.
In 2020, a sweeping National Security Law came into force, criminalizing previously protected civil liberties under the headings of “sedition“ and “foreign collusion.”
Cardinal Joseph Zen was released on bail from Chai Wan Police Station at around 11 pm on Wednesday. He did not speak. He then entered a private car parked outside the police station. The 90-year-old was accompanied by five people when he left the police station.
CNA