A pro-democracy protester was sentenced Friday to 9 years in jail in the carefully enjoyed very first case under Hong Kong’s nationwide security law as Beijing tightens up control over the area.
Tong Ying-set, 24, was founded guilty of prompting secession and terrorism for driving his motorbike into a group of policeman at a July 2020 rally.
He brought a flag bearing the prohibited motto, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”
Beijing enforced the security law on the previous British nest in 2015 following anti-government demonstrations that appeared in mid-2019.
The sentence was significantly longer than the 3 years asked for by the prosecution. Tong’s defense attorney appealed for no greater than 10. He dealt with a possible optimum of life in jail.
Critics implicate Beijing of breaking the autonomy and Western-design civil liberties guaranteed when Hong Kong went back to China in 1997, and harming its status as a trading and monetary center.
The judgment Communist Party turns down the criticism and states Beijing is bring back order and setting up security defenses like those of other nations. More than 100 individuals have actually been apprehended under the security law.
Defense legal representatives stated Tong’s charge needs to be light due to the fact that the three-judge panel hadn’t discovered the attack was intentional, nobody was hurt and the secession-related offense certified as small under the law.
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On Friday, Tong was worn a black t-shirt and tie with a blue sports jacket as he was throughout his trial.
The three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that Tong’s actions were an act of violence focused on persuading the Hong Kong and mainland federal governments and daunting the general public. It stated bring the flag was an act of incitement to secession, turning down defense arguments that Tong might be shown to be prompting secession simply by utilizing the motto.
Tong’s trial was carried out without a jury under guidelines that permit an exception to Hong Kong’s British-design typical law system if state tricks require to be safeguarded or foreign forces are included. The judges were chosen by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
The last pro-democracy Hong Kong paper, Apple Daily, closed down last month after reporters and executives were apprehended. Its owner, Jimmy Lai, is serving a 20-month jail term and deals with more charges of conspiring with immigrants to threaten nationwide security.
Also in 2015, Hong Kong’s legislature was reorganized to minimize the general public’s function in choosing legislators and ensure a bulk to Beijing-allied figures. Rules for chosen authorities were tightened up to need them to be considered patriotic.
