Hong Kong court sentences pro-democracy activists over Tiananmen vigils

A Hong Kong court on Friday sentenced three pro-democracy activists who organized annual vigils marking China's deadly 1989 Tiananmen crackdown to between five and seven years in prison under the city's national security law.

The sentences handed down were:

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69 — seven years

Chow Hang-tung, 41 — seven years and three months.

Albert Ho, 74, — five years and two months, after pleading guilty

The three were convicted in August of "incitement to subversion" over their activities with the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, which received a fine of HK$1.5 million ($191,304, €164,768). The alliance had organized annual Tiananmen vigils in Victoria Park.

Judges cited the group's call to "end one-party dictatorship," saying it challenged the legitimacy of Communist Party rule in the Chinese special administrative region.

Lee and Chow denied the subversion charges under Hong Kong's controversial national security law. The defendants also insisted the alliance had not asked people to do anything illegal.

The court rejected arguments that the defendants believed they were acting within the law given Hong Kong's freedoms of speech, which have been severely curtailed since Beijing imposed the law in 2020 following a crackdown mass pro-democracy protests the previous year.

The vigils, once a major annual event in Hong Kong, have been effectively banned under the law.

Chow, a barrister who represented herself, raised both arms and waved at supporters as she was escorted out.

Her mother, Medina Chow, addressed her supporters saying, "For today's verdict, you do not need to be overly saddened. Do not lose heart. And above all, do not feel guilty."

The convictions have drawn criticism from foreign governments and rights groups.

"This sentencing is a triple tragedy: for the activists being unjustly punished; the survivors and victims of the Tiananmen crackdown itself; and the generations of Hongkongers denied the space to discuss one of the most consequential events in modern Chinese history," said Amnesty International's deputy regional director, Sarah Brooks.

Germany and France last month had condemned the verdict against Chow saying that "peaceful advocacy for human rights does not constitute a crime."

Chow was the recipient of Franco-German Human Rights Award in 2023.

Among those arrested under the security law are pro-democracy former media tycoon Jimmy Lai and former student leader Joshua Wong.