A Hong Kong court has sentenced three pro-democracy activists to prison terms ranging from five to more than seven years for organizing annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The convictions were handed down under a Beijing-backed national security law imposed on the city in 2020 following huge protests.
Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, who pleaded not guilty, were sentenced to seven years and three months and seven years, respectively. Albert Ho, a 74-year-old former lawmaker who pleaded guilty in January, received a sentence of five years and two months.
The activists were jailed for calling for an end to one-party dictatorship, while prosecutors argued that China's constitution enshrines the primacy of the Communist Party. The case is widely seen as a barometer of the city's eroding freedoms and the stifling of dissent as Beijing clamps down.
The convictions have been condemned by the United Nations, foreign governments, and rights groups.