Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiring to subvert state power, drawing sharp criticism from Human Rights Watch as international calls for his immediate release grow louder.

Joshua Wong Sentenced to 10 Years

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong has been sentence to 10 years in Prison by a court on Thursday. Wong was once the figurehead of Hong Kong’s democracy movement and entered prison for the first time at 23. CNN reported, that Wong in September had pleaded guilty to conspiring with fellow activists to invite foreign sanctions against China and Hong Kong in 2020. Beijing had then introduced Hong Kong's National Security Law (NSL), which led to a crackdown on dissent.

Prosecutors had accused Wong of conspiring with others to lobby the United States and other countries to sanction China and Hong Kong, saying that he lobbied with interests groups including then US Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "The punishment must fit the gravity of the crime," High Court Judge William Tam told a packed courtroom in delivering the sentence, Reuters reported. "It is also necessary for the court to express the community’s abhorrence ⁠of the defendant's scheme and acts with others to collude with foreign forces or external elements to endanger national security," the Judge said.

Background and Detention

Wong has been in detention since November 2020, when he pleaded guilty to inciting and organising an unauthorised anti-government assembly during protests that roiled the Asian financial hub in 2019. He had been due for release next year.

Reaction from Rights Groups

Human Rights Watch has criticised the sentencing saying the Hong Kong government should immediately and unconditionally release Wong. “The harsh sentence on baseless charges against Joshua Wong is cruel and unjust,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Young people promoting social change are an asset for any vibrant society, but the Hong Kong government puts them behind bars,” she added.

Human Rights Watch also called on foreign governments to denounce the sentences against Wong and other wrongfully detained pro-democracy activists and impose targeted sanctions on officials responsible for Hong Kong’s growing repression. (ANI)

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