Hong Kong court imposes harsh prison terms on Tiananmen vigil protesters

Hong Kong Court Sentences Three Activists Under National Security Law

A Hong Kong court has handed down sentences to three activists who organized a vigil marking the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were each sentenced to seven years in prison for inciting subversion. Albert Ho, 74, received a five-year and two-month sentence after pleading guilty.

The defendants, who were part of a group that organized annual commemorations, were charged under the national security law imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. The law has been criticized for suppressing civil liberties in the city. Judges ruled that the defendants breached the Chinese constitution by calling for an end to one-party dictatorship.

The court also fined the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($191,000). Lee and Chow were in custody since pleading not guilty in 2021. Ho was a former chair of the vigil group and a leading figure in the opposition Democratic Party.

The sentences are expected to include time already served. Public commemorations of the 1989 civil unrest used to be legal in Hong Kong but were outlawed in 2020 under the national security law. The verdicts have been condemned by the United Nations, rights groups, and foreign governments, including Taiwan’s government, which stated that pursuing democracy and human rights is not a crime.

The Hong Kong Alliance was disbanded following the imposition of the national security law. Lee’s wife Elizabeth Tang has announced plans to appeal his sentence. Chow represented herself in court and maintained she had “nothing to repent for”.

Source: Al Jazeera