Hong Kong Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Sentenced to 13.5 Months in Prison: "It Will Be Tough but I Will Endure"

Agnes Chau Sentenced to 10 Months Imprisonment
Ivan Lam Sentenced to 7 Months Imprisonment

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (24) was sentenced to 13.5 months in prison for organizing and inciting illegal assemblies.

According to Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK on the 2nd, the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court in Hong Kong handed down this sentence to Wong on the same day. His colleague Agnes Chow (23) was sentenced to 10 months in prison for inciting and participating in illegal assemblies, and Ivan Lam (26) was sentenced to 7 months for inciting illegal assemblies.

Immediately after the sentencing, before being transferred, Wong told his supporters, "I know the road ahead of me is rough, but I will endure." Chow burst into tears upon hearing the sentence that day.

These three, former executives of the Hong Kong Demosist? Party, had admitted to the charges at the trial held on the 23rd of last month and had been detained since then. The court stated that it reduced the prison terms considering their admission of guilt.

Their lawyers requested lenient sentences, citing the young age of the three, the fact that they did not engage in any violent behavior during the protests, and that Chow has no prior criminal record.

However, the judge pointed out that they played leading roles in the protests and obstructed and wasted police administrative efforts. The judge said, "The defendants urged protesters to occupy the police headquarters and shouted slogans disparaging the police," adding, "Immediate detention is the only appropriate option."

They were charged with organizing, participating in, and inciting a large-scale illegal protest that surrounded the police headquarters in the Wan Chai area on June 21 of last year. Thousands of people surrounded the police headquarters during protests against the 'Fugitive Offenders Ordinance' (extradition bill) and police excessive force. During the 15-hour protest, some protesters damaged the police headquarters walls and broke surveillance cameras, but there were no serious clashes with the police. The Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that the protest was one of the largest in the seven-month-long anti-government demonstrations last year.

Their admission of guilt is interpreted as an intention to reduce their sentences and a reflection of their resolve to continue the struggle from prison, amid speculation that they would receive prison sentences anyway.

Meanwhile, Wong is also facing prosecution for participating in illegal assemblies in October last year and June this year. Chow was arrested in August for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law but was released on bail; if convicted, she could face a life sentence.