In first use of sedition law since 1997, Hong Kong imprisons two journalists over coverage of 2019 pro-democracy protests

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A file photo shows Chung Pui-kuen, former chief editor of the now-shuttered Stand News, and Patrick Lam, former acting chief editor, at the District Court in Hong Kong, China, on June 27, 2023. — Reuters pic

HONG KONG, Sept 27 — A Hong Kong court Thursday night sentenced a former editor to jail for 21 months and immediately released another after they had earlier been found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles in a ruling that has prompted an international outcry.

In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet were convicted last month — the first time journalists have been found guilty of sedition since the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997.

Chung was sentenced to 21 months while Lam was given a sentence that allowed him to be released immediately on health grounds.

District Court Judge Kwok Wai-kin noted evidence from Lam’s lawyer on Thursday that he had serious autoimmune and advanced kidney disease, and prison could further endanger him.

Chung smiled as the judge said his colleague Lam would be released, and Lam’s wife wept.

Chung would have to serve around 10 months in jail given earlier remand custody.

Stand News, once Hong Kong’s leading online media outlet, was known for its hard-hitting reports about the city’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and later the national security crackdown.

Under the colonial-era sedition law, the maximum sentencing is two years imprisonment and a fine of HK$5,000 (RM2,600).

Western diplomats witnessed the sentencing, including representatives from the United States, the European Union, France, Britain, Canada, and Ireland.

Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, said earlier that the office was calling on Hong Kong authorities to review the court’s decision in line with obligations under international human rights law.

Twenty-three member states of the Media Freedom Coalition, including the US, UK and Canada, have similarly signed a statement, urging “Hong Kong and China authorities to abide by their international human rights commitments and legal obligations, and to respect freedom of the press and freedom of speech in Hong Kong.”

A spokesperson for Hong Kong’s government said in a statement that the government “strongly disapproved of and rejected the fact-twisting remarks and baseless smears” by the coalition.

Hong Kong and Chinese officials have said the security clampdown was needed to maintain stability after the pro-democracy protests.

Judge Kwok wrote in a verdict in August that “the political ideology of Stand News was localism” and “the line it took was to support and promote Hong Kong local autonomy”.

Hong Kong’s mostly-youthful localist movement emerged in the 2010s amid political tensions with Beijing, emphasizing local identity and culture, as well as greater autonomy. Some supporters called for Hong Kong independence.

“I believe that during the offence period, the ... defendants did not carry out real media work, but participated in the so-called struggle at that time,” the judge said on Thursday.

In August, Chung wrote in a mitigation letter to the court that some Hong Kongers “care about the freedom and dignity of everyone in the community and are willing to pay the price of losing their own freedom”.

Lam wrote that “the only way for journalists to defend press freedom is to report.”

Stand News was raided by police in December 2021 and its assets were frozen, leading to its closure. — Reuters