Hong Kong, August 29 (ANI): Two former chief editors of the now-defunct pro-democracy news outlet Stand News, have been found guilty of sedition by a Hong Kong court, amid a security crackdown in the China-ruled city, Al Jazeera reported.
District Court judge Kwok Wai-kin announced the verdict on Thursday, which declared former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam guilty of conspiring to publish seditious publications based on 17 articles.
The judge did not immediately hand down a sentence, but the pair could now face a maximum sentence of up to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about USD 640) under a colonial-era sedition law.
According to Al Jazeera, the trial was being seen as a litmus test for press freedom in the city. Notably, it was the first sedition trial against Hong Kong journalists since the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.
Stand News was shuttered in 2021 after a massive police raid on its office. Two journalists were arrested along with five members of staff during the raids.
Notably, it was one of the city’s last media outlets that openly criticised the government amid a crackdown on dissent that followed massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Prosecutors described Stand News as a political platform as well as an online news outlet. They claimed some of the articles helped promote “illegal ideologies,” as well as smearing the security law and law enforcement officers.
“Freedom of speech should not be restricted on the grounds of eradicating dangerous ideas, but rather it should be used to eradicate dangerous ideas,” said Chung during the trial, which saw him deny that Stand News was a political platform. His former colleague, Lam, did not appear in court.
Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd, the outlet’s holding company, was convicted on the same charge. It had no representatives during the trial, which began in October 2022.
Stand News was shut down just months after the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, whose jailed founder Jimmy Lai is fighting collusion charges under a sweeping national security law enacted in 2020.
Days after its closure, independent news outlet Citizen News also announced it would cease operations, citing the deteriorating media environment and the potential risks to its staff.
In the latest World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Hong Kong was ranked 135 of 180 territories in, down from 80 in 2021. Self-censorship has also become more prominent during the political crackdown on dissent, as reported by Al Jazeera.
In March, the city government enacted another new security law that many journalists worry could further curtail media freedoms.
However, the Hong Kong government continues to claim the city still enjoys press freedom, as guaranteed by its mini-constitution. (ANI)
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