China Prison sentences in Hong Kong for former editors-in-chief
A court in Hong Kong has sentenced two former editors-in-chief of a now defunct pro-democracy news portal to prison.
26.09.2024, 15:03
SDA
According to media reports, Chung Pui-kuen (55) received a sentence of 21 months. His colleague Lam Shiu-tung (36) also received a prison sentence of several months, but was released immediately as the judge reduced the sentence due to illness and Lam had already been in custody for several months. The court had found the two guilty of disseminating "seditious" articles at the end of August, with only the sentence remaining open.
The prosecution had accused the journalists of promoting "illegal ideologies" with their publications. The court found that eleven articles and commentaries, some of which had been written by pro-democracy activists or members of the opposition, had seditious intentions.
Press freedom in Hong Kong is declining
Their news portal "Stand News" was shut down in December 2021 after a large-scale police raid and the two editors-in-chief were arrested. Hong Kong has slipped further and further down the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index in recent years, most recently ranking 135th out of 180.
Since the mass demonstrations for more democracy in the Chinese special administrative region, the communist leadership in Beijing tightened laws in the summer of 2020. Hong Kong now has its own controversial "security law" and can therefore take tougher action against critical voices.
