Hong Kong jails seven activists for 2019 protests, judge says rights ‘not absolute’

A Hong Kong court Wednesday handed out jail sentences to seven pro-democracy activists for their role in the anti-government protests of 2019.  The sentences of Figo Chan, a former convenor of the now-disbanded Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF); Raphael Wong and Avery Ng of the League of Social Democrats political party; and former legislators Cyd Ho, Yeung Sum, Albert Ho and Leung Kwok-hung, ranged from 11 to 16 months. They had pleaded guilty to organising and inciting people to take part in the ‘illegal assembly’ on October 20, 2019, at the peak of demonstrations that had rocked the region for months.

Apart from Raphael Wong, the other defendants were serving jail time in other illegal assembly cases, Reuters reported.

Judge Amanda Woodcock told the District Court that “freedom of assembly, procession and demonstration” guaranteed by the city’s mini-constitution was “not absolute.”

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“Restrictions were applied in the interests of public safety, public order and the protection of others’ rights and freedoms,” she said, referring to the October 20 rally, which was held amid months of protests over China’s implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong.

Critics says the law, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, gives authorities sweeping powers against demonstrators and activists. On July 27, a 24-year-old former waiter, the first person to face trial under the law, was found guilty of terrorism and inciting secessionism for carrying a flag with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” written on it. Tong Ying-kit was arrested less than 24 hours after the law was passed last year, for ramming his motorcycle into three riot police officers.

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Following Wednesday’s verdict, democracy campaigners said the space for opposition voices was “shrinking”.

“We hope everyone understands that this is political prosecution,” Chan Po-ying, the chairwoman of the League of Social Democrats, said outside court.