Hong Kong (AFP)
Hong Kong press mogul Jimmy Lai was sentenced to another jail term on Friday for taking part in a 2019 banned protest on Communist China's 70th anniversary.
Mr. Lai, currently in detention for participating in other protests, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for organizing and participating in the rally on October 1, 2019. He pleaded guilty.
Seven other figures in the pro-democracy movement, including Figo Chan, a 25-year-old activist, and ex-MPs Lee Cheuk-yan and Leung Kwok-hung were also sentenced to new sentences.
This wave of condemnations once again illustrates the relentless Chinese repression on the semi-autonomous territory.
In 2019, the international financial center was rocked for several months by huge, often violent, protests against Beijing's growing grip.
On October 1, 2019, National Day in China, radical activists and the police clashed in a particularly violent way on the sidelines of the rally which took place peacefully and in which the activists took part. condemned.
Beijing had seen as a snub the high rate of participation of the population in this rally as the Chinese government celebrated the 70 years of the regime.
"It was naive to believe that a call for peaceful and rational conduct would suffice to ensure the absence of violence," Justice Amanda Woodcock said as she handed down the jail terms for the eight activists.
© 2021 AFP