Deeming "impossible" to work freely in Hong Kong because of the draconian national security law imposed last year by Beijing, the NGO Amnesty International announced the closure of its offices in the country on Monday.

“This decision, taken with a heavy heart, is due to the Hong Kong National Security Law, which makes it practically impossible for human rights organizations in Hong Kong to operate freely and without fear of serious reprisals from government, ”NGO president Anjhula Mya Singh Bais said in a statement.

Two offices on site

The former British colony returned to China in 1997 has long benefited from its legal system separate from the rest of the country and guaranteeing freedom of expression and assembly. As a result, many non-governmental organizations and media have chosen the city as a regional base.

“But the recent targeting of local rights groups and unions is a signal of an intensified campaign by the authorities to rid the city of any dissenting voices.

It is increasingly difficult for us to continue working in such an unstable environment, ”added the President of Amnesty.

Amnesty International, which has been in Hong Kong for over 40 years, has two offices there: its local chapter and its regional headquarters for South East Asia and the Pacific.

The local will close on October 31, and the regional office by the end of 2021.

"Repressive environment"

Adopted in June 2020, the National Security Law, which according to Beijing has allowed Hong Kong to regain stability after the gigantic and often violent pro-democracy protests of 2019, has radically transformed the political, cultural and legal landscape of the territory. The text punishes any constitutive act of "secession", "subversion", "collusion with foreign forces" or "terrorism". Written in a very vague manner, it in fact makes it illegal to express almost any form of opposition. Certain crimes against national security are punishable by life imprisonment.

“The repressive environment of perpetual uncertainty created by the national security law makes it impossible to know what activities could lead to criminal sanctions,” Amnesty International said.

Last July, the first Hong Kong man tried under the new law, a 24-year-old waiter, was sentenced to nine years in prison for running at a police officer on a motorcycle while waving a flag bearing a slogan considered subversive.

A second defendant, a 31-year-old food delivery man, was found guilty on Monday of “secession” for chanting slogans such as “Free Hong Kong, revolution of our time”, or “Hong Kongers, build your own country”.

More than 70 people charged

Jailed since his arrest ten months ago, the young man, the first person to be sentenced for a non-violent national security offense, will face his sentence later. He faces seven years in prison. Trials under the National Security Act take place without a jury and before magistrates specially selected by the government, which constitutes a real break with the Hong Kong legal tradition inherited from the British system. Most of the defendants await trial in prison, as they are rarely granted bail.

More than 70 people, many of the city's most prominent pro-democracy activists, have been charged, most of them simply expressing political views.

Many others have fled abroad.

Several dozen associations and unions in Hong Kong have also scuttled in recent months for fear of being worried by the authorities.

And the city's leading pro-democracy daily, Apple Daily, shut down in June after its leaders were jailed and its assets frozen.

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Hong Kong: Two officials of the pro-democracy daily "Apple Daily" indicted

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