China Two former editors-in-chief sentenced in Hong Kong
A court in Hong Kong has found two former editors-in-chief of a now defunct pro-democracy news portal guilty of disseminating "seditious" articles.
29.08.2024, 13:48
29.08.2024, 13:49
SDA
The prosecution accused journalists Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam Shiu-tung of promoting "illegal ideologies" with their publications.
The court found that eleven of the articles and commentaries in question, some of which were written by pro-democracy activists or members of the opposition, had seditious intentions. The sentence is to be announced in September.
"Stand News" was shut down in December 2021 following a large-scale police raid and the two editors-in-chief were arrested. The independent news portal "Citizen News" and the pro-democracy newspaper "Apple Daily" were also shut down at the time. "Apple Daily" founder Jimmy Lai has been in prison for years and is also facing trial.
Beijing cracks down on opposition in Hong Kong
"Today's verdict against the former editors of Stand News marks another milestone in the alarming erosion of basic rights in Hong Kong," said Maya Wang, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, criticizing the verdict: "Once known for its thriving press, Hong Kong is now jailing journalists just for doing their jobs."
The Chinese Special Administrative Region has slipped further and further down the Reporters Without Borders press freedom index in recent years, most recently ranking 135th out of 180.
Following the large-scale demonstrations and calls for more democracy in Hong Kong, the communist leadership in Beijing struck back against the protest movement in the summer of 2020 with stricter laws and a strict national security law. Opposition members were arrested or fled abroad.
