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A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 13 and a half months in prison after he pleaded guilty to organizing and inciting an unauthorized gathering in front of a police station during mass anti-government protests. in June of last year.
Agnes Chow, 23, and Ivan Lam, 26, Wong’s longtime fellow activists, were also jailed Wednesday for 10 and seven months, respectively, on charges related to the same protest.
“The defendants called on the protesters to lay siege to the headquarters and chanted slogans that undermine the police force,” Magistrate Wong Sze-lai said as she read the sentences.
“Immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate option,” he added.
Pro-democracy activists Agnes Chow, left, Ivan Lam, center, and Joshua Wong, right, pleaded guilty to the charges in November. [File: Tyrone Siu/ Reuters]
The protest took place in Wanchai district on June 21 last year and thousands of people surrounded the police headquarters as they demonstrated against the excessive use of force by the police against protesters, as well as a project of now withdrawn extradition law that would have allowed the extradition of suspects. to mainland China for trial.
All three, former members of the now-dissolved political group Demosisto, had been taken into custody pending sentencing.
It is the first time that Chow has received a jail sentence. Wong and Lam had previously been jailed on charges related to their activism.
Chow, dubbed by some in Hong Kong as the “goddess of democracy”, wept in the courtroom upon hearing the sentence. She pleaded guilty to incitement and participation in an illegal protest, while Lam pleaded guilty to incitement.
‘Difficult days’
When Wong was escorted off the court, he shouted to his supporters: “The days ahead will be difficult, but we will endure.”
The crowd, some of whom were sobbing, responded with a popular protest slogan: “Add oil!”
The imprisonment of the trio, known for their advocacy of democracy in Hong Kong both at home and abroad, comes as Beijing strengthens control over the semi-autonomous city after months of anti-government protests last year, which occasionally saw clashes. violent between protesters and police.
Human rights groups condemned Wednesday’s sentence, and Human Rights Watch’s Sophie McNeill called the ruling “heartbreaking and outrageous.”
Yamini Mishra, regional director for Asia-Pacific, said the trio’s imprisonment was intended to send a message to other Hong Kong dissidents.
“Once again, the government has used the politically motivated charge of ‘inciting others to protest’ to prosecute people who have simply spoken and protested peacefully,” he said.
“By targeting known activists from Hong Kong’s largely leaderless protest movement, the authorities are sending a warning to anyone who dares openly criticize the government that they could be next.”
In June, China imposed a comprehensive national security law in Hong Kong that critics say is aimed at cracking down on dissent. It penalizes everything that Beijing considers an act of secession, subversion, “terrorism” or collusion with foreign forces.
China views Wong and other Hong Kong activists who have lobbied for international support as the “black hands” of Western powers that are trying to meddle in its internal affairs. He has also defended the broad legislation as crucial to restoring stability and peace to the territory after the 2019 riots.
Wong also faces charges of participating in an unauthorized assembly in October last year and June 4, 2020, during a vigil for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. In July, he was banned from running for a seat in the legislature. of the city before the election itself was postponed a year.
Chow was one of the first opposition politicians to be arrested under Beijing’s new security law on the charge of “collusion with foreign forces,” and could face life in prison if prosecuted and convicted on that charge.
Additional information from Erin Hale in Taipei, Taiwan.
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