Hong Kong Court Sentences 45 Democracy Activists to Prison Terms... Up to 10 Years

The Hong Kong court sentenced 45 democracy activists, including student activist Joshua Wong and legal scholar Benny Tai, to prison terms of up to 10 years.

Reuters Yonhap News

According to NBC News and others, on the 19th, the Hong Kong court delivered this verdict against those involved in the so-called 'Hong Kong 47 case,' in which 47 pro-democracy figures were prosecuted for violating the National Security Law.

The Hong Kong 47 case refers to the incident in which 47 pro-democracy figures?including politicians, activists, labor union leaders, journalists, and scholars?who unofficially organized a pro-democracy primary election ahead of the 2020 Legislative Council (LegCo) election, were simultaneously arrested on charges of conspiring to 'subvert or overthrow the government.' Among them, except for two who were acquitted in May, the remaining 45 were all sentenced to prison terms on this day.

The Hong Kong court judged Tai to be the 'ringleader' who organized the pro-democracy primary election at the time and sentenced him to the longest term of 10 years. This is the heaviest sentence handed down since China implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020. The law allows for sentences up to life imprisonment for four types of crimes: secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces.

Pro-democracy politicians in Hong Kong, including Au Nok-hin, Andrew Chiu, and Ben Chung, were also considered ringleaders and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 years and 1 month to 7 years. Wong, well known as a student activist, received 4 years and 2 months, while Gordon Ng, an Australian national, was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months.

Earlier, among the 47 people involved in the Hong Kong 47 case, 31, including Tai, pleaded guilty in hopes of receiving reduced sentences. Of the 16 who maintained their innocence, 14 were found guilty in the trial held last May.

Maya Wang, deputy director of China at Human Rights Watch, criticized the verdict, saying, "It shows how quickly civil liberties and judicial independence in Hong Kong have deteriorated since the implementation of the National Security Law," and added, "Trying to run for office and win an election can now result in a 10-year prison sentence in Hong Kong." At that time, the Hong Kong government postponed the LegCo election citing the spread of COVID-19 and restructured the electoral system. As a result, no pro-democracy candidates were able to run in the LegCo election held in December 2021.