Police basal defender extracurricular the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts gathering earlier the sentencing against the 45 convicted pro-democracy activists charged nether the nationalist information law, successful Hong Kong, China November 19, 2024.
Tyrone Siu | Reuters
Hong Kong's High Court connected Tuesday jailed 45 pro-democracy activists for up to 10 years pursuing a landmark national security trial that has damaged the city's erstwhile feisty democracy movement and drawn disapproval from the U.S. and different countries.
A full of 47 pro-democracy activists were arrested and charged successful 2021 with conspiracy to perpetrate subversion nether a Beijing-imposed national security law and had faced sentences of up to beingness successful prison.
Benny Tai, a erstwhile ineligible student identified arsenic an "organizer" of the activists, was sentenced to 10 years successful jail, the longest condemnation truthful acold nether the 2020 national security law.
Some Western governments person criticized the trial, with the U.S. describing it as "politically motivated" and saying the democrats should beryllium released arsenic they had been legally and peacefully participating successful governmental activities.
The Chinese and Hong Kong governments accidental the national security laws were indispensable to reconstruct bid aft wide pro-democracy protests successful 2019, and the democrats person been treated successful accordance with section laws.
The charges related to the organizing of an unofficial "primary election" successful 2020 to prime the champion candidates for an upcoming legislative election. The activists were accused by prosecutors of plotting to paralyze the authorities by engaging successful perchance disruptive acts had they been elected.
After a 118 day trial, 14 of the democrats were found guilty in May, including Australian national Gordon Ng and activist Owen Chow, portion 2 were acquitted. The different 31 pleaded guilty.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was "gravely concerned" astir the sentence, and called connected China to "cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civilian society," in Hong Kong.
Sentences ranged from conscionable implicit 4 years to 10 years.
Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months successful jail, portion Chow was sentenced to 7 years and 9 months; erstwhile journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho, was sentenced to 7 years.
Hendrick Lui was sentenced to much than 4 years successful jail. Afterwards, his parent Elsa Wu shouted: "He's a bully idiosyncratic … he's not a governmental captive … wherefore does helium person to spell to jail?"
It was not instantly wide whether the defendants — immoderate of whom person already been detained for much than 3-1/2 years — would person this clip deducted from their sentences.
Hundreds of radical had queued from the aboriginal hours extracurricular the court, galore holding umbrellas successful airy rainfall arsenic they tried to unafraid a spot wrong the main courtroom and respective spillover courts.
Authorities deployed a choky constabulary beingness extracurricular the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court and for respective blocks successful the vicinity with constabulary dogs, an armored motortruck and vehicles with lights flashing. Some radical were searched and questioned.
"I consciousness specified an injustice needs witnessing," said 1 pistillate who gave her sanction arsenic Margaret and had been successful the queue since Sunday afternoon. "I've agelong followed their case. They (the democrats) request to cognize they inactive person nationalist support."
The ruling, which critics person said tarnishes Hong Kong's relation arsenic a planetary fiscal hub, comes arsenic the metropolis is hosting an international financial acme to pull much business.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee arsenic caput of state, Marco Rubio, has been a staunch professional of the trial and successful an earlier open letter criticized the convictions arsenic grounds of the national security law's "comprehensive battle on Hong Kong's autonomy, regularisation of law, and cardinal freedoms."
Speaking extracurricular the tribunal building, Roxie Houge, the caput of the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong's governmental section, said the U.S. authorities condemned "the continuous prosecution of individuals present in Hong Kong who are expressing their governmental views ... exercising their state of speech."
Britain, which handed Hong Kong back to China successful 1997, has said the security law has been utilized to curb dissent and freedom.
English (US)