45 Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for violating national security law

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

香港の民主化指導者４５人に量刑言い渡し、最長１０年の禁錮　国安法違反

2024.11.19 Tue posted at 14:42 JST

香港（ＣＮＮ） 香港の裁判所は１９日、香港で最もよく知られている民主派の４５人の被告に対し、香港国家安全維持法（国安法）違反で最長１０年の禁錮を言い渡した。この判決は、中国が４年前に国家安全保障に関わる全面的な取り締まりを実施して以降すでに縮小している香港の政治的自由にとって最大の打撃だ。

著名な元議員、活動家、労働組合員、ジャーナリストを含む４５人は１９日、４年２カ月から１０年の禁錮を言い渡された。

２０１９年に大規模な民主化デモが香港を揺るがした後、中国は反対派に対する取り締まりを強化した。

 今回の大量の判決言い渡しは、その変革がどれほど進んだかを示している。かつては抗議活動が珍しくなかった香港は、権威主義的な中国本土を映し出す鏡のような存在に変わり、反対派の有力者は収監され、その他の批判的な人々は沈黙させられたり海外に逃亡したりしている。

１４年の反政府デモを主導した法学者の戴耀廷（ベニー・タイ）被告は、中国が２０年に制定した国安法の下で言い渡された判決の中でこれまでで最も重い１０年の刑期を言い渡された。かつて盛んだった民主化運動の象徴で、学生リーダーだった黄之鋒（ジョシュア・ウォン）被告には、禁錮４年８カ月の判決が下された。

当初４７人だった被告らは、２０年に香港全体の投票で自身らの当選確率を高めるため非公式の予備選を開催したとして「転覆を共謀」した罪で起訴されていた。

香港の指導部、警察、検察は、この民主派の予備選について「香港政府を転覆させるための大規模で組織的な計画」に相当し、国安法に違反していると主張した。

裁判所は５月、容疑を否認した１４人と有罪を認めた３１人に有罪判決を下した。無罪となったのは２人だけだった。

「香港４７」の裁判として広く知られるこの訴追は、人権団体や外国政府の注目を集めてきた。人権団体などは、かつては多元的なビジネスの中心地であり、政治的抗議活動や反対派がおおむね容認されていた同都市の劇的な変化を懸念している。

Translation

45 Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders sentenced to up to 10 years in prison for violating national security law

Hong Kong (CNN) A Hong Kong court on Tuesday sentenced 45 of Hong Kong's best-known pro-democracy figures to up to 10 years in prison for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. The ruling would be the biggest blow to Hong Kong's political freedoms, which had already dwindled since China imposed a sweeping national security crackdown four years ago.

The 45, including prominent former lawmakers, activists, trade unionists and journalists, were sentenced on the 19th to between four years and two months and 10 years in prison.

After massive pro-democracy protests rocked Hong Kong in 2019, China stepped up its crackdown on dissidents.

The massive sentences handed down this time showed how far the transformation had progressed. Hong Kong, where protests were not uncommon in the past, had become a mirror image of authoritarian mainland China, with prominent opponents jailed and other critics silenced or forced to flee overseas.

 Benny Tai (戴耀廷), a legal scholar who led anti-government protests in 2014, received a 10-year prison term, the heaviest sentence yet handed down under China's security law that was enacted in 2020. Joshua Wong(黄之鋒), a student leader and once-powerful icon of the pro-democracy movement was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison.

The defendants, originally 47 in number, were charged with "conspiring to commit subversion" for holding unofficial primaries to boost their chances of winning a Hong Kong-wide election in 2020.

Hong Kong's leaders, police and prosecutors had said the primaries held by the pro-democracy group amounted to a "large-scale and organized plot to overthrow the Hong Kong government" and violated the national security law.

A court in May convicted 14 people who denied the charges and 31 who pleaded guilty; only two were acquitted.

The prosecution, widely known as the "Hong Kong 47 people" trial, had attracted the attention of human rights groups and foreign governments. Human rights groups etc. were worrying about dramatic changes in a city that was once a diverse business hub where political protests and dissents were largely tolerated.

              So, a Hong Kong court has sentenced 45 of Hong Kong's best-known pro-democracy figures to up to 10 years in prison for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. The ruling will be a big blow to Hong Kong's political freedoms. It has been noted that over 200,000 people have left Hong Kong since China imposed a sweeping national security crackdown four years ago.