Kwok said they demanded a face-to-face conversation with Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, and the Director of Public Prosecutions David Leung Cheuk-yin.

“Cheng needs to come out and tell us whether the prosecutorial decisions made recently were politically motivated,” Kwok said.

“Why are the assailants who attacked citizens yet to be prosecuted, while the young protesters are charged with rioting?”

The lawmaker was referring to the mob of men in white T-shirts who indiscriminately attacked passengers with rods and metal poles at Yuen Long MTR station on July 21.

So far 24 men have been arrested for unlawful assembly over the incident, but none have been charged. In contrast, 44 of those who took part in a protest in Sheung Wan seven days later have already been charged with rioting.

Kwok also urged the justice department to set up an independent unit to handle prosecutions related to the ongoing protests, and to keep Cheng completely away from deciding charges. They said as a principal official responsible for pushing the bill, she had a conflict of interest.

‘More than 1,500’ join journalists’ silent march in Hong Kong

Earlier on Wednesday on a radio programme, Kwok claimed Leung had proposed the creation of an “independent prosecution committee” to handle cases related to the protests, only to be overruled by Cheung.

The Department of Justice called the report “totally unfounded”, and said Cheng and Leung were “deeply disappointed” by it.

The extradition bill, if passed, would have allowed Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to jurisdictions with which the city did not have an extradition agreement, including mainland China.

By Wednesday, 589 people, aged between 13 and 76, had been arrested during numerous marches, rallies, demonstrations and clashes between police and protesters since June 9.

Legal heavyweight and former Executive Council member Denis Chang Khen-lee QC joined the rally and spoke in public for the first time since the protests broke out.

He urged the government to listen to the “silent scream” of the city’s legal profession.

“But we do not just scream,” he said. “We want law, order, justice and peace.”

Chang, who led the Independent Police Complaints Council for six years until 1998, said an independent investigation into the political crisis was necessary, and warned that whoever talked about the rule of law should not mistake law as an instrument to control people.

“The law has also the control of people in power,” Chang said.

Stephen Char Shik-ngor, a former chief investigator for the Independent Commission Against Corruption, said no one could tell if the formal withdrawal of the bill and an independent inquiry would stop the protests.

“But at least [the government] should do it to cool down the situation … it is doing nothing up to now,” he said.

In response to the march and rally, a justice department spokesman said Cheng, Leung and the prosecution team had discharged their duties fairly and without prejudice or favour, so as to safeguard criminal justice.

The department would not handle the cases differently because of the political beliefs or backgrounds of people involved, the spokesman said.

In a statement the department said the time required to make prosecutorial decisions depended on a number of factors, including the time it took to investigate, the amount of evidence, and the complexity of a case.

“The department will continue to liaise with other members of the legal and dispute solution sectors, meet, and is willing to listen to their views,” the spokesman said.