Hong Kong, China:
A Chinese court on Wednesday jailed 10 Hong Kong democracy activists for up to 3 years more than a bid to flee the city by speedboat to Taiwan, as a crackdown on dissent in the territory intensifies.
The group had been arrested by the Chinese coastguard on August 23 en route to the self-ruled island, which has opened its doors to Hongkongers searching for sanctuary.
The court in the southern city of Shenzhen sentenced Tang Kai-yin to 3 years in jail and Quinn Moon to two years for organising an illegal border crossing.
The eight other people had been sentenced to seven months behind bars for illegally crossing the border.
The sentencing follows the imposition of a sweeping new safety law in Hong Kong this year that has offered the government broad powers to prosecute political dissidents.
A quantity of activists have fled the city for overseas and political organisations have shuttered their doors as Beijing seeks to retain a lid on unrest that rocked the monetary hub for months final year.
Officials earlier stated that two minors from the so-named “Hong Kong 12”, aged 17 and 18, would be returned to Hong Kong right after they admitted wrongdoing.
The pair arrived back in the city about noon on Wednesday.
The 10 adults in the group very first appeared prior to the Shenzhen court on Monday, but the trial — like a lot of in China’s opaque legal technique — was not open to foreign reporters or diplomats.
These 10 had been also fined up to 20,000 yuan (US$3,060) in addition to their jail terms.
But the Yantian District People’s Procuratorate stated it would not pursue its case against the two teenagers, surnamed Hoang and Liu.
“Fleeing tyranny”
Families of the accused had been only notified of the trial date 3 days prior to the hearing and had been unable to attend due to the quick notice and Covid-19 restrictions.
Their lawyers had been barred from meeting the detainees, with authorities rather appointing state-authorized legal representation.
The lawyers on Wednesday stated the sentences had been as well heavy and the allegation of organising a border crossing was not substantiated.
The United States on Monday named for the instant release of the group who it stated was “fleeing tyranny”.
“Communist China will stop at nothing to prevent its people from seeking freedom elsewhere,” a US embassy spokesperson told AFP.
Some of the group had been currently facing prosecution in Hong Kong. The two minors face charges of conspiracy to commit arson and possession of an offensive weapon.
Amnesty International stated in a statement that the group had been at threat of torture serving sentences in mainland Chinese jails.
“These sentences meted out after an unfair trial lay bare the dangers faced by anybody who finds themselves tried under the Chinese criminal system,” stated Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra.
“The Chinese authorities have shown the world once again that political activists will not receive a fair trial.”
China’s foreign ministry on Monday pushed back against comments by foreign nations on the case.
Washington will have to “immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs through the Hong Kong issue and immediately stop interfering in China’s judicial sovereignty”, spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.
“De facto secret”
In a joint letter more than the weekend, the households stated they “strongly condemn” the authorities’ choice to hold the trial in “de facto secret”.
The safety law that now blankets Hong Kong offers authorities sweeping powers of prosecution for acts deemed terrorism, secession, subversion or collusion with foreign entities.
The city had enjoyed exceptional freedoms considering the fact that its handover from former colonial energy Britain in 1997, with a deal promising a “one country, two systems” arrangement for 50 years.
Beijing says the new safety law was necessary to restore peace and stability but critics have condemned it as a fatal attack on Hong Kong’s freedoms.
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