HK pro-democracy advocates convicted
A HONG KONG court sent five leading pro-democracy advocates, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai, to up to 18 months in prison for organising a march during the 2019 anti-government protests that triggered an overwhelming crackdown from Beijing.
A total of nine advocates were given jail terms, but four of them, including 82-year-old lawyer and former politician Martin Lee, had their sentences suspended after their age and accomplishments were taken into consideration.
They were found guilty earlier this month of organising and participating in a massive protest in August 2019, where an estimated 1.7 million people marched in opposition to a bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China.
The march was not authorised by the police.
Their convictions and sentencing are another blow to the city’s flagging democracy movement, which
is facing an unprecedented crackdown by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities.
The court suspended the 11-month prison sentence of Mr Lee, known for his advocacy for human rights and democracy, for two years because of his age.
Mr Lai, the founder of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily tabloid, was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
He was already held on other charges, including collusion with foreign forces to intervene in the city’s affairs, a new crime under a sweeping national security law that Beijing imposed on the city in 2020.
Lee Cheuk-yan, a pro-democracy activist and former politician who helped organise annual candlelight vigils in Hong Kong on the anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
Lawyers Albert Ho and Margaret Ng both had their 12-month jail sentences suspended for two years.
Former politician Leung Kwokhung was sentenced to 18 months, while another former politician, Cyd Ho, was given a jail sentence of eight months.
Two other former politicians, Au Nok-hin and Leung Yiu-chung, who previously pleaded guilty, were also given jail sentences.
Au Nok-hin got 10 months, while Leung Yiu-chung’s eight-month jail term was suspended for one year.
“I’m ready to face the penalty and sentencing and I’m proud that I can walk with the people of Hong Kong for this democracy,” Lee Cheuk-yan said ahead of the court session, as supporters held up signs condemning political persecution.
“We will walk together even in darkness, we will walk with hope in our hearts.”