A court docket in Hong Kong has upheld the convictions and sentences of pro-democracy activists within the largest case introduced below a Beijing-imposed nationwide safety regulation.
The appeals have been a part of the so-called “Hong Kong 47” case, during which many main pro-democracy activists and politicians have been arrested in early 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion.
Hong Kong‘s authorities stated the court docket’s resolution confirmed that anybody endangering nationwide safety could be punished in accordance with the regulation.
The case centred on an unofficial main election organised by pro-democracy campaigners in mid-2020 to pick the strongest candidates for a council election.
The prosecution alleged they have been conspiring to win a majority in an effort to paralyse the federal government by blocking the town’s annual funds, in a bid to pressure Hong Kong’s chief to resign.
The mass prosecution of 47 activists crushed a lot of the town’s once-thriving pro-democracy motion, which noticed massive anti-government protests in 2019.
Forty-five of the defendants have been sentenced to between 4 and 10 years in 2024, drawing criticism from overseas governments and rights teams.
Eleven activists who appealed their convictions misplaced their bids.
They included former politicians Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan and Helena Wong.
All appeals over their sentences, introduced by 10 of them and one other activist, have been additionally dismissed by the Court docket of Attraction.
Police stand guard exterior the court docket in Hong Kong. Pic: Reuters
Lawrence Lau, a pro-democracy former district councillor, was one among two activists acquitted within the case.
Judges upheld his acquittal following an attraction from the prosecution.
Kinfolk of the defendants have been on the court docket listening to. Pic: AP
After listening to the outcome, the defendants appeared calm and waved to their households and supporters.
Some folks had waited exterior since Saturday to safe a seat within the courtroom.
After the ruling, Chan Po-ying, the spouse of activist Leung Kwok-hung, stated: “What crimes have they dedicated?”
Lester Shum is amongst 18 folks to have been launched after serving their sentence. Pic: AP
To date, 18 of the 45 convicted democrats have been launched after serving their jail phrases, together with former district councillors Jimmy Sham and Lester Shum.
Officers in Hong Kong and Beijing insist that they acquired a good trial, and say the nationwide safety regulation in 2020 helped restore order following the mass pro-democracy protests.
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However a spokesperson for Amnesty Worldwide Hong Kong Abroad stated the court docket “missed a essential alternative to right this mass injustice”, including that “peaceable opposition to a authorities will not be against the law”.
The Australian authorities’s overseas minister, Penny Wong, additionally expressed concern that its citizen, Gordon Ng, had misplaced the attraction over his conviction.
