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Student leader Joshua Wong sentenced to two years in jail for organising mass pro-democracy rally
Hong Kong jails 20-year-old activist under national security law
A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced Joshua Wong, a leading student activist in the territory, to two years in jail under a controversial security law for leading protests that derailed the 2017 election of a pro-Beijing leader.
Joshua Wong (@joshuawong) Activist Joshua Wong, who played a key role in the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014, today received a two-year jail sentence under the National Security Law on a charge of “insulting the head of state” and “subverting the government”.
Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Joshua Wong is the fourth protester to be jailed under the National Security Law, which defines acts by suspected foreign agents that threaten Hong Kong’s security as treason.
The 19-year-old Wong and 11 other defendants were sentenced in July after convictions for the illegal assembly of supporters of independence for Hong Kong.
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Wong had pleaded not guilty and, during the trial, prosecutors said his actions did not amount to treason, although they conceded they violated a 1984 national security law on peaceful assembly.
The city’s highest court, the Court of Final Appeal, raised the maximum sentence for such offences in July to five years, which led to the two-year jail term.
Wong is the joint leader of the 2014 “umbrella movement” protests that blocked major roads for 79 days to demand the right to choose candidates for Hong Kong’s next leader.
He is well known in the Chinese territory for his activism, leading the 2014 “umbrella movement” protests that blocked major roads for 79 days to demand the right to choose candidates for Hong Kong’s next leader.
Joshua Wong (@joshuawong) Today, i’m in court to be sentenced by the Intermediate Court of Hong Kong. I’m prepared to stand up and defend myself, defend the Hong Kong people and defend our right to democratic self determination. pic.twitter.com/E4ZF7GjskH
He is currently a student at the University of Hong Kong but was barred in June from his law degree finals, citing lack of educational funding.
