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Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong jailed for 'illegal assembly'

Activists Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were sentenced to prison time too

HONG KONG-CHINA-POLITICS Activists Joshua Wong (R) and Ivan Lam (L) arrive at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in Hong Kong after being sentenced after pleading guilty to inciting a rally during pro-democracy protests in 2019 | AFP

Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were sentenced to jail on Wednesday on charges related to an unauthorised anti-government protest in 2019 at the city's police headquarters, an AP report reads.
Wong, Chow and Lam, who were arrested on November 24 were expected to be sentenced to five years in prison. Wong, who initially intended to fight the charges, pleaded guilty to charges to starting protests outside a police station.

Wong has been sentenced to received 13 1/2 months behind bars. The protests took place on June 21 last year. Thousands had gathered around the police headquarters to protest against police brutality and a now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China.

23-year-old Chow was sentenced to 10 months, while 26-year-old Lam was sentenced to seven months. All three were members of the now-disbanded political group Demosisto. Demosisto disbanded after Beijing imposed the draconic national security law in July this year.


Authorities have been ever since carried out an increasingly aggressive crackdown on arresting activists, journalists and politicians. Last month four pro-democracy lawmakers were removed from the Legislative Council. This caused 15 pro-democracy Legislative Council lawmakers to resign in protest. The four lawmakers ousted from the Legislative Council were banned from contesting in elections that were supposed to take place in September, but have been postponed for a year.


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