Hong Kong protester given 9-yr term in 1st security case

| | Hong Kong
  • 0

Hong Kong protester given 9-yr term in 1st security case

Saturday, 31 July 2021 | AP | Hong Kong

A pro-democracy protester was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison in the closely watched first prosecution under Hong Kong’s national security law as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over the territory. Tong Ying-kit, 24, was convicted of inciting secession and terrorism for driving his motorcycle into a group of police officers at a July 1, 2020, rally. He carried a flag bearing the banned slogan, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”.

President Xi Jinping’s government imposed the law on the former British colony last year following protests that erupted in mid-2019. Beijing has rolled back the territory’s Western-style civil liberties and tried to crush a pro-democracy movement by jailing activists. The public’s role in picking Hong Kong’s legislators has been reduced.

Critics accuse Beijing of violating the autonomy promised when Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 and wrecking its status as a global business centre. Human rights activists say the security law is being abused to attack legitimate dissent.

Tong’s sentence was longer than the three years requested by the prosecution. He faced a possible maximum of life in prison.

Tong’s sentence is a “hammer blow to free speech” and shows the law is “a tool to instill terror” in government critics, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director, Yamini Mishra, said in a statement.

 

State Editions

SC uphold land acquisition for Yamuna Expressway

27 November 2024 | Staff Reporter | Delhi

Delhi air quality swings between severe to poor

27 November 2024 | Staff Reporter | Delhi

Center manipulating electoral rolls in Delhi fearing BJP defeat

27 November 2024 | Staff Reporter | Delhi

LG announces month-long anti-drug campaign in Capital

27 November 2024 | Staff Reporter | Delhi

BJP to target AAP in Assembly on corruption, pollution

27 November 2024 | Staff Reporter | Delhi

BJP woos slum dwellers with night stays

27 November 2024 | Staff Reporter | Delhi

Sunday Edition

Food Freak | Lobsters Take Centre Stage at Grappa Pop-Up

24 November 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

A Cozy Escape

24 November 2024 | Abhi Singhal | Agenda

Reviving Telangana’s Culinary Heritage

24 November 2024 | Sharmila Chand | Agenda

The art and spirit of cake mixing

24 November 2024 | Team Viva | Agenda

LUXURY CONVERGE AT HONG KONG

24 November 2024 | AKANKSHA DEAN | Agenda

Discovering the World’s True Essence

24 November 2024 | RUPALI DEAN | Agenda