Agnes Chow, the 24-year-old activist, had been convicted along side her long-time activist colleague, Joshua Wong, for his or her involvement in an illegal rally near police station during anti-government protests within the Chinese-ruled city of Hong Kong in 2019.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was released from prison on Saturday after serving nearly seven months for her role in an unauthorised assembly during anti-government protests within the city in 2019.
The 24-year-old activist had been convicted along side her long-time activist colleague, Joshua Wong, for his or her involvement in an illegal rally near police station within the Chinese-ruled city.
Wong remains in prison and therefore the reason for Chow's early release after being sentenced to 10 months in jail wasn't clear. The Correctional Services Department said it might not discuss individual cases.
Chow was released from the Tai Lam penal institution in Tuen Mun, in Hong Kong's New Territories district, at about 10am civil time .
She didn't speak to the media before she was ushered into a car with friends and fellow democracy activists.
Supporters shouted "Agnes Chow add oil", a Cantonese-language expression of encouragement that was widely used at the protests that roiled the town .
Some supporters wore black T-shirts and yellow masks and one held a yellow umbrella, a logo of protests within the former British colony dating back to 2014.
Chow, along side Wong and Nathan Law, who has since been given asylum in Britain, came to prominence as teenage activists during the 2014 protests to demand universal suffrage.
The three founded the democracy group Demosisto in 2016, which dissolved hours after Beijing passed a contentious national security law for the town last year amid fears it might be targeted under the legislation.
The law has stifled the pro-democracy movement and raised concern about prospects for the autonomy Hong Kong was promised under a "one country, two systems" formula when it had been handed over to China in 1997.
Chow was also arrested last year on suspicion of "colluding with foreign forces" under the safety law but has not faced any charges associated with that.
Fluent in Japanese, Chow features a sizable following in Japan, particularly on social media, and had travelled to the country frequently before her arrest. She often posted on Twitter in Japanese and Japanese media has dubbed her a "goddess of democracy".
