45 pro-democracy activists sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case

HONG KONG (AP) — Forty-five former lawmakers and activists were sentenced to four to 10 years in prison Tuesday. Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under A law imposed by Beijing This crushed the once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

These individuals were prosecuted for their roles under the 2020 national security law. unofficial primary election. Prosecutors said their aim was to paralyze Hong Kong’s government and force the city’s leader to resign by aiming to win a legislative majority and using it to indiscriminately block government budgets.

610,000 voters participated in the unofficial primary election in July 2020, and the winners were expected to advance to the official election. However, authorities canceled the official legislative elections, citing public health risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legal scholar Benny TaiHe received the longest prison sentence of 10 years, which the judges called a genius. Judges said that the sentences were reduced for the defendants who said they did not know that the plan was against the law.

However, the court said the sentences were not reduced because Tai and former MP Alvin Yeung were lawyers who were “absolutely determined to press for the implementation of the plan.”

People wait outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024, ahead of sentencing in the national security case. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS/Chan Long Hei

In the decision posted online, the justices wrote that Tai essentially “advocated revolution” by publishing a series of articles tracing his thoughts over a period of months; but Tai said in a letter requesting a shorter sentence that those steps “never” happened. It is intended to be used as a blueprint for any political action.”

Two of the 47 main defendants were acquitted earlier this year. The rest either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion. In their ruling, the justices said activists’ plans to push for change through unofficial primary elections would undermine the government’s authority and create a constitutional crisis.

The judges rejected some defendants’ reasoning that the plan would never come to fruition, stating that “all participants had made every effort to make it a success.”

The judges emphasized that a large amount of time, resources and money were devoted to the organization of the primary.

“When the Primary Election took place on July 10 and 11, no one even remotely mentioned the fact that the Primary Election was nothing more than an academic exercise and that the Plan was absolutely unachievable,” the decision said. “There may be obstacles that organizers and participants must overcome to be successful, but this is to be expected in any case of subversion where efforts are made to overthrow or paralyze a government.”

Some of the defendants waved to their relatives in the courtroom after their sentences.

Chan Po-ying, wife of defendant Leung Kwok-hung, told reporters she was not surprised to learn that her husband had been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. He said they were trying to use some of the rights granted by the city’s mini-constitution to pressure those in power to appeal to the will of the people.

“This is an unjust arrest. They should not be kept in jail even for a day,” said Chan, who is also the chairman of the Union of Social Democrats, one of the city’s pro-democracy parties.

Ventus Lau’s girlfriend, Emilia Wong, said the prison sentence was within her expectations. He said the sentence was the “middle stage” of history and that he could not see the end point at the moment, but vowed to support Lau as much as he could.

Claudia Mo’s husband, Philip Bowring, was relieved to hear the sentences were finally handed down.

Observers say the trial shows how authorities suppress dissent Major anti-government protests in 2019As well as pressures on the media and reduced public choice in elections. Officials said the sweeping changes reflected Beijing’s growing obsolete promise to protect the former British colony’s civil liberties for 50 years when it returned to China in 1997.

The governments of Beijing and Hong Kong have insisted that the national security law is necessary for the city’s stability.

The sentence drew criticism from foreign governments and human rights organizations.

The US Consulate in Hong Kong said the US strongly condemns the sentences handed down to 45 pro-democracy advocates and former lawmakers.

“The defendants were aggressively prosecuted and imprisoned for their peaceful participation in normal political activities protected under the Hong Kong Basic Law,” the statement said. “We call on (Beijing) and Hong Kong authorities to stop politically motivated investigations against Hong Kong citizens and immediately release all political prisoners and individuals imprisoned for peacefully defending rights and freedoms.”

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said her government was “gravely concerned” by the sentences handed down to Australian citizen Gordon Ng and other activists. Wong said Australia had expressed strong objections to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities over the continued widespread application of its national security legislation.

The demolition case involved a wide range of pro-democracy activists. Among them is former student leader Tai Joshua Wong and former MPs. Wong was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. Young activist Owen Chow was given the second longest prison sentence of seven years and nine months.

Most had already been detained for more than three and a half years before sentencing. separations It upset them and their families.

More than 200 people, including Lee Yue-shun, one of the acquitted defendants, lined up to be in court in the rain and wind on Tuesday morning. Lee said he hopes the public shows they care about the case.

“Public interpretation and understanding has a far-reaching impact on the future development of our society,” he said.

One supporter, known locally as “Grandpa Wong” and who did not know the English spelling of his name, said he wanted to see the convicted activists again. He is nearly 100 years old and is afraid he won’t be able to see them when they get out of prison.

Wei Siu-lik, a friend of convicted activist Clarisse Yeung, said she arrived at 4 a.m. even though her leg was injured. “I wanted to let them know that there are still a lot of people coming here to get them,” he said.

31 of the activists pleaded guilty and had a better chance of receiving a reduced sentence. The law allows for a range of sentences, depending on the seriousness of the crime and the defendant’s role in it, from less than three years for the mildest offenses to up to 10 years to life imprisonment for people convicted of “serious” crimes.

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