Hong Kong activists jailed over Tiananmen vigils
Three pro-democracy activists have been sentenced to up to seven years under Hong Kong’s national security law for organising annual commemorations of China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
A Hong Kong court has sentenced three pro-democracy activists to between five and seven years in prison for organising annual vigils commemorating China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, Deutsche Welle reported.
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were each sentenced to seven years for incitement to subversion. Albert Ho received five years and two months after pleading guilty in January. The three were convicted in August.
The case arose from their work with the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, which organised annual vigils in Victoria Park. The organisation was fined HK$1.5 million.
Judges said the alliance’s call to “end one-party dictatorship” challenged the legitimacy of Communist Party rule. The defendants argued they had not encouraged illegal activity and believed they were operating within Hong Kong’s previous protections for freedom of speech.
The convictions were brought under Hong Kong’s national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 after mass pro-democracy protests the previous year. Vigils that had previously been permitted have since been effectively banned.
Amnesty International criticised the sentences, while Germany and France said peaceful human rights advocacy did not constitute a crime. Chow, who represented herself, waved to supporters as she was escorted from court.
