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Joshua Wong and two other prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced to prison terms on Wednesday for participating in an illegal demonstration against the administrative region government in June 2019.
Wong, 24, was sentenced to 13 and a half months in prison, having been identified by the prosecution as the main person responsible for organizing last year’s protest, in which thousands of people demonstrated in front of the police headquarters.
Ivan Lam, 26, and Agnes Chow, 23, were sentenced to seven and ten months in prison respectively for their participation in the same demonstration.
“The defendants encouraged the demonstrators to besiege the headquarters [da polícia] and shouted slogans that question the police force, “said Judge Wong Sze-lai, quoted by AFP.” Immediate detention is the most appropriate option, “he said.
During the reading of the sentence, around 100 pro-democracy protesters joined the court entrance to support activists. Some pro-Chinese protesters held a counter-demonstration, demanding heavier sentences.
“I know the next few days are going to be tough, but we will resist,” Joshua Wong shouted in court, Reuters reports. In a letter published by his lawyers on social media, Joshua Wong assured that his arrest “is not the end of the fight”.
#JoshuaWong 13.5 million in prison – through lawyers, “is not the end of the struggle. Before us is another challenging battlefield. We now join the battle in prison along with many brave protesters, less visible but essential in the struggle for democracy and freedom for HK. pic.twitter.com/1ZGmfUDf7k
– Joshua Wong ??? ?? (@joshuawongcf) 2 December 2020
“Before us is another challenging battlefield. We will now join the prison battle with other brave protesters, less visible but essential in the struggle for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong, ”Wong said.
Like Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow, Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to the charges and waited for the sentence to be read for a week in prison, where he was held in solitary confinement, with lights on 24 hours a day, for three days, after a “shadow” was detected in his stomach.
The 24-year-old activist is still accused of participating in an illegal demonstration in October 2019 and in June of this year, when he was present at a vigil in honor of the victims of the Tianamen massacre in 1989.
Unlike Wong and Lam, who had already been sentenced to prison terms on other occasions, Agnes Chow was never arrested and, as soon as her sentence was read, the activist cried.
Agnes Chow faces a charge of sedition, after being arrested and released on bail in August this year, accused of violating the national security law. So far, the accusation has not yet been formalized, but the legislation imposed by Beijing on the administrative region allows for a life sentence for the crime of sedition.
“Violation of rights”
The condemnation of the three activists was immediately repudiated internationally. Amnesty International said Hong Kong officials “are sending a warning to anyone who dares to openly criticize the government” by targeting leading activists in the democracy movement.
“These three activists were arrested in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful demonstration,” said Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International’s director for the Asia-Pacific region. “Their sentences must be lifted without delay and they must be released immediately and unconditionally,” he reiterated.
The UK, which has been one of the most critical countries compared to China and Carrie Lam’s regional executive, has called for an end to the persecution of pro-democracy activists.
As 3 Hong Kong activists begin prison terms, I urge the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to end their campaign to stifle the opposition.
Decisions in court proceedings must be fair and impartial. Rights and freedoms in Hong Kong must be defended. https://t.co/4jOwbQFOYQ
– Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) 2 December 2020
“As three Hong Kong activists begin serving their sentences, I urge the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to end the campaign to stifle the opposition,” Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said, stressing that the charges must be “fair and impartial “.
“Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms must be guaranteed,” he added.
The arrest of the three activists, who have been involved in the movement for democracy in the region for several years, follows a wave of arrests of opposition members in Hong Kong.
Also, in June, China imposed a national security law in the region that critics see as an attempt to silence any dissenting voices. The legislation criminalizes what Beijing considers to be acts of secession, subversion, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces, including sentences that can lead to life imprisonment.
The entry into force of the law – which has already led to at least 30 arrests – prompted Joshua Wong to cease the activities of the Demosisto party, which he founded with Agnes Chow. The two activists were also barred from running for legislative elections in the administrative region, which would eventually be postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Hong Kong government recently withdrew the mandate of several deputies from the pro-democracy camp, following a law imposed by China that authorizes the regional executive to expel MPs considered a threat to national security.
In response, pro-democracy MPs resigned en bloc, leaving the local parliament with no opposition members in Beijing, the first time since the UK returned Hong Kong’s sovereignty to China in 1997.
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