One of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, arrested as part of a crackdown imposed by China, said Sunday that she left Hong Kong and left the country for Canada after pressure authorities left him with financial and mental problems. health.

Agnes Chow, 27 – a core member of a now-disbanded group of young activists, including Joshua Wong, who helped revive Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement – said in posts on her Instagram account on Sunday evening that she had left Hong Kong to study in Canada. .

His group, Demosisto, was disbanded hours after Beijing passed a sweeping national security law in 2020.

The law stifled the pro-democracy movement and resulted in more than 280 arrests, sparking criticism from some Western governments saying the legislation was a tool of repression.

Beijing says the law brought stability to Hong Kong following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Chow’s posts – her first public comments since her release from prison in June 2021 – detail how she remained under “surveillance” by authorities.

Chow was sentenced to 10 months in prison in November 2020 for promoting an unauthorized assembly. After serving her sentence, she was released on bail and her passport confiscated for alleged “national security” reasons, alongside others including pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai.

Chow said it was as if the police wanted to remind her that she had not regained her freedom and that she was “not trying to do anything.” She said the pressures led to her being diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Various emotional illnesses have put my body and mind in a very unstable state,” Chow added.

She could not be reached by Reuters for comment.