[ad_1]
SHENZHEN, China: Security was tight on Monday (December 28) when 10 Hong Kong people faced charges in a mainland Chinese court including illegal border crossing after a ship they were traveling on was intercepted en route. to the democratic island of Taiwan.
Chinese authorities detained the 11 men and one woman at sea on August 23. The youngest is 16 years old.
The 12, who had faced charges in Hong Kong related to anti-government protests in the city, have been held virtually incommunicado in a mainland prison since their arrest.
Pro-democracy supporters protest for the release of 12 Hong Kong activists arrested while allegedly sailing to Taiwan seeking political asylum and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan in front of the China Liaison Office, in Hong Kong, China, on December 28, 2020. REUTERS / Tyrone Siu
Chinese officials, who have described the group as separatists, said that two of them would have a separate hearing because they are minors. It was unclear if all 10 were appearing in court or attending via video link.
They face charges of illegally crossing the border and organizing an illegal border crossing, which could carry a sentence of up to seven years in jail, mainland Chinese authorities said.
The case has drawn a lot of attention in Hong Kong as a rare instance of Chinese authorities arresting people trying to leave the former British colony at a time of growing fears about the prospects for a high degree of autonomy for the city after Beijing imposed a draconian national security law in June. .
READ: Hong Kong residents arrested at sea ‘will have to be treated’ by mainland China: Carrie Lam
Diplomats from countries including the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia were denied entry to the long-awaited hearing after authorities said the court was full.
“We have been denied entry. The official explanation given is that the case does not involve any foreign nationals,” a Western envoy told Reuters.
Representatives of the consulate meet at the entrance of a court in Shenzhen
The plight of the detainees has attracted international attention, with human rights groups expressing concern over the treatment they received after their families said they were denied access to independent lawyers.
“They try to say it is an open trial, but they also say that all seats are taken. Family members have no right to attend the trial. That is absurd,” said Lee Cheuk-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance. in Support of China’s patriotic democratic movements.
“They have no right to appoint their own lawyer. They don’t even know the names of the government-appointed lawyers.”
READ: Families of captured Hong Kong activists demand their return from Chinese detention
Early Monday, the US embassy in China urged authorities to release the fugitives and allow them to leave.
“Their supposed ‘crime’ was to flee from tyranny. Communist China will stop at nothing to prevent its people from seeking freedom elsewhere,” the embassy said in a statement.
A police officer records a video during a protest to urge the release of 12 Hong Kong activists arrested while allegedly sailing to Taiwan seeking political asylum and citizen journalist Zhang Zhan in front of the China Liaison Office in Hong Kong. , China on Dec 28, 2020. REUTERS / Tyrone Siu
Pro-democracy activists began fleeing Hong Kong for autonomous Taiwan since the first months of the anti-government protests last year, most of them legally, by air, but some on fishing boats, activists in Taipei who helped Hong Kong citizens obtain visas. he told Reuters.
