Setting an Example
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A Hong Kong court issued a verdict in a landmark case involving journalists in the semi-autonomous territory, a ruling that raised concerns about the deterioration of freedom of speech as Beijing tightens its grip on the city, Al Jazeera reported Thursday.
A court found the former chief editors of the now-defunct pro-democracy news outlet Stand News guilty of sedition. It was the first such trial against Hong Kong journalists since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
Defendants Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam were accused of conspiring to publish seditious publications based on 17 articles, including interviews with pro-democracy figures, such as overseas-based activist Nathan Law.
Prosecutors claimed the articles promoted illegal ideologies, as well as criticized the national security law and law enforcement.
The defendants could face up to two years in prison and a fine of around $640 under a colonial-era sedition law.
Stand News was closed in 2021 following a police raid. It was one of the last organizations to openly criticize the government in the wake of a crackdown on dissent following pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The trial is also connected to the months-long protests that gripped the city five years ago. The unrest was sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill and was marked by widespread accusations of police brutality.
More than 10,200 people have been arrested in connection with the unrest.
Observers told Al Jazeera that the Stand News trial is seen “as a litmus test for press freedom in the city.” The outlet shut down months after other independent and pro-democracy ones, such as Apple Daily and Citizen News, shut down or ceased operations, citing a deteriorating media environment.
Hong Kong was ranked 135 of 180 territories in Reporters Without Borders’ latest World Press Freedom Index, down from 80 in 2021.
Despite international concerns, the Hong Kong government maintains that the city still enjoys press freedom as guaranteed by its mini-constitution.
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