HONG KONG – Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media figure, and several of Hong Kong’s most prominent opposition campaigners were sentenced on Friday to eight months to 18 months in prison for an unauthorized peaceful protest.
Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Until recently, the city was long a bastion of freedom of speech. The sentences send an unmistakable message that activism poses serious risks to even the most internationally recognized opposition figures.
The court found Mr. Lai, 73, a media mogul who founded Apple Daily, an aggressively pro-democracy newspaper, was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Martin Lee, an 82-year-old lawyer, often referred to as Hong Kong’s “father of democracy”, was given a suspended sentence of 11 months, meaning he would avoid being put behind bars if he was not in a next crime is not convicted. two years.
China’s ruling Communist Party considers Mr. Lee and Lai have long been troublemakers. The sanctions imposed enable Beijing to use them now as criminals, which has exacerbated the challenge of foreign criticism and the sanctions imposed by the United States following the repression of Hong Kong.
For mr. Lai this may just be the beginning of his legal danger. He is facing additional charges, under a comprehensive national law on national security, which vaguely defines political offenses for the Beijing challenge and imposes heavier sentences.
The sentences are the latest escalation into a broader repression that has effectively silenced the political opposition and paralyzed its prospects.
“It simply came to our notice then. What did they do to deserve such severe punishments? Says Fernando Cheung, a former lawmaker. ‘It was a peaceful demonstration for the public to show people’s dissatisfaction. All these political leaders did was walk with the people. ”
After the sentences were read, supporters and family members waved to the accused and shouted their support. “Stand strong!” several exclaimed.
Dozens of pro-democracy politicians are also facing charges of undermining a strict national security law. China has revamped Hong Kong’s electoral system to capture the power of establishing the pro-Beijing enterprise. Protests were largely banned during the pandemic, and self-censorship in the media and arts, which are under official pressure, is a growing concern.
Over a period of months in 2019, hundreds of thousands of people joined anti-government demonstrations in one of the biggest challenges for the Communist Party in decades. The sentences imposed on Friday, and added to the measures already taken against differences of opinion, are likely to cool participation in such protests in the future.
“It is very clear that the approach has changed radically, not just by the courts and the police,” said Sharron Fast, a media science lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. “The emphasis is on deterrence; the emphasis is on punishment. And with large-scale meetings, the risk is very great. ”
The accused were charged with marching on 18 August 2019, following a rally in Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island. The protest in the park was allowed by the police, but the authorities, citing the violence during earlier protests, did not approve the plans for protesters to then march about two kilometers to the government headquarters.
Hundreds of thousands gathered in the summer rains. And when the accused marched out of the park after the protest, behind a banner exposing the police’s violent use during the protests, the crowd followed. While the prosecutor admitted that there was no violence, they quoted the tense atmosphere of that period, except that a single protester kicked traffic cones, with anger towards the police who were celebrating high tide and widespread traffic disruptions in support of the charges .
Mr Lee, who was a founder of the city’s first pro-democracy party and also helped draft the area’s mini – constitution, advocated his life’s work for civil and political rights in Hong Kong. He traveled the world, including many trips to Washington, to lobby for it. Such internationally focused activism is now banned under national security legislation.
Mr. Lai, the media magnate, was smuggled from mainland China to Hong Kong as a child and moved from factory worker to magnate of the clothing company. He then put his wealth in cross-cutting publications in tabloids that were sharply critical of the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Mr. Lai is also facing a fraud case and charges of collusion with a foreign country under the security legislation because he allegedly demanded sanctions against Hong Kong. In a separate trial Friday, prosecutors added two more charges of national security, and Mr. Lai accused of conspiracy to commit undermining and obstructing justice. The National Security Act, introduced by Beijing last year, gives authorities wide powers to tackle a variety of political crimes, including life imprisonment for ‘serious’ crimes.
In the illegal assembly case, the court rejected the defense’s arguments that the march after the protest was necessary to help protesters get out of the crowded park safely, or that the possible imprisonment for a non-violent march violates the rights to free speech and meeting that would infringe. traditionally protected in Hong Kong.
Judge Amanda Woodcock said on April 1, when the convictions were announced, that although Hong Kong recognizes the right to a peaceful assembly, the law sets limits to ensure the safety, order and rights of others. To prevent her from being prosecuted just because a protest was peaceful, ‘the law would not give teeth and make a mockery of it’, she wrote in her ruling.
Leung Kwok-hung, an activist, was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the heaviest sentence. Labor leader Lee Cheuk-yan received a 12-month sentence and Cyd Ho, an activist, eight months. Albert Ho and Margaret Ng, two leading advocates, were both given suspended sentences. All the accused, except Mr. Lai, served in the Hong Kong legislature.
The accused were sentenced to up to five years in prison for organizing and participating in an unauthorized meeting. Activists condemned the sentences as illegal.
“These convictions are a violation of international law, which states that participating in and organizing peaceful assemblies does not require the prior consent of the state,” said Yamini Mishra, director of Amnesty International for the Asia-Pacific region. . “Everyone sentenced today should be released immediately and their record should be removed.”
Mr. Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum, the former chairman of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong, pleaded guilty last week to another charge of illegal assembly, related to a separate march on August 31, 2019. On that day , protests did turn into widespread violence.
Mr. In a letter to his Apple Daily colleagues this week, Lai said they should be careful because “freedom of speech is dangerous now.”
“The situation in Hong Kong is getting colder,” he wrote. “The era is falling out before us, so it’s time we stood up.”