WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday strongly condemned the arrest of five executives of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily and its parent company and suggested the crackdown on independent media in Hong Kong was politically motivated.
"We strongly condemn the arrest of five senior executives from Apple Daily and its parent company ... and we call for their immediate release," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a telephone briefing.
"We are deeply concerned by Hong Kong authorities' selective use of the national security law to arbitrarily target independent media organizations. The charges of 'collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security' appear to be entirely politically motivated."
