The Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and seven other pro-democracy activists have been sentenced to up to 14 months in prison for organising, taking part in and inciting participation in a banned vigil last year for victims of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
According to The Guardian, the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging freedoms, traditionally holds the largest 4 June vigil in the world, but police have rejected applications for the past two events, citing coronavirus restrictions.
Critics said authorities used the pandemic restrictions as an excuse to block the commemoration. The city government rejected that.
The sentencing is the latest blow to the city’s democracy movement, which has resulted in dozens of activists being arrested, jailed or fleeing the Chinese-ruled territory since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law last year.
The judge, Amanda Woodcock, said the defendants “ignored and belittled a genuine public health crisis” and “wrongly and arrogantly believed” in commemorating 4 June rather than protecting the health of the community.
Lai, a 74-year-old media tycoon who is already in jail, the barrister Chow Hang-tung, 36, and activist Gwyneth Ho, 31, received sentences of 13, 12 and six months respectively. They were found guilty by the court on Thursday.
The three, the highest profile of the eight, had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
