A university student who was questioned by Hong Kong’s national security police has revealed details about the interrogation, as public attention continues to grow over the case of another Hongkonger who has been incommunicado since he returned to the city and was charged under the national security law.

The student, who wishes to remain anonymous, was stopped on the street by a police officer after having dinner with a friend. At first, the student thought he was suspected of violating the group-gathering ban imposed to contain the spread COVID-19, but was informed that he was wanted by the police’s national security department.

He was then taken to a police station and questioned in relation to a protest that had taken place on the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus on November 19, 2020. During that protest, some participants had held up banners and chanted slogans in support of Hong Kong independence.

After a body search, the student was brought to a detention room and was met by “six or seven” national security officers. His lawyer was nervous, since it was his first time handling a case involving the national security law, which has many uncertainties surrounding it, he said.

National security officers questioned the student on two occasions that day for a total of four hours.

The student was shown images taken from a livestream of the campus protest that showed different placards that were on display. Officers asked the student whether he knew what the placards meant and why he was at the scene that day.

Officers then played a video clip from the protest and asked the student whether he recognized the people in the clip and what his relationship to them was. He was asked whether he had planned the protest. He didn’t know how to answer, he told Apple Daily, because he had simply stood on the sidelines watching the participants march out of curiosity.

After four hours of questioning, the student was released without charge. While he has not been charged with violating the national security law, he faces other charges, such as unlawful assembly, in relation to Hong Kong’s 2019 unrest.

What he fears most is the uncertainty of the future, since he doesn’t know how many years he may spend in prison with no way of contacting other people, he told Apple Daily.

Meanwhile, Andy Li, who was returned to Hong Kong last week after serving seven months in prison in Shenzhen, is still out of contact with his family members. A court mention of Li’s case took place last week without his attendance, since Li is still under mandatory quarantine.

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