MONGKOK, HONG KONG — A prominent leader in the Hong Kong protests is in stable condition following an attack by unknown assailants. <br /><br />According to the Hong Kong Free Press, Civil Human Rights Front leader Jimmy Sham was en route to a meeting in Mong Kok on Tuesday night when he was attacked by four to five men wielding hammers.<br /><br />The South China Morning Post reports that fellow CHRF member Figo Chan said bystanders attempted to save Sham during the ambush, but one of the attackers pointed a knife at them.<br /><br />According to police, officers found Sham in the street bleeding from his head and arms. His assailants fled in a car, and as yet remain unidentified.<br /><br />He luckily suffered no damage to his brain or bones, reports the Hong Kong Free Press, and was taken to a nearby hospital. <br /><br />The attack on Sham is the second to occur since the anti-government protests in Hong Kong began. In August, he and a friend were attacked at a restaurant in Kowloon by two masked men with a baseball bat and steel rod. Sham was unharmed, but his friend sustained serious bruises from being hit with the bat.<br /><br />The CHRF strongly condemned the incident, and accused the attackers of spreading political terror to threaten people from going out onto the streets and fighting for their rights.<br /><br />The South China Morning Post reports that Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting described the assault as clearly politically motivated, and accused police of failing to protect opposition politicians and activists.
