Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in jail
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for colluding with foreign entities in violation of the city's national security law.
The 30-year-old activist, who has been in custody since 2020, was found guilty by Hong Kong's High Court on Thursday. The sentence comes just two months before he was expected to be released in January 2027.
Wong was accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries to impose sanctions or engage in hostile activities against the government. He pleaded guilty to the charge in September.
Court's reasoning
High Court Judge William Tam delivered the sentence, stating that the punishment must fit the gravity of the crime. He explained that the court needed to express "the community's abhorrence of the defendant's scheme and acts with others to collude with foreign forces or external elements to endanger national security."
Tam considered a 13-year prison sentence as a starting point but reduced it to 10 years because of Wong's guilty plea and mitigation.
International reaction
Governments and rights groups criticized the court's decision. The United States consulate in Hong Kong strongly condemned the additional sentence and called for Wong's "immediate release."
Taiwan criticized the "endless political persecution" of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, accusing Beijing and the Hong Kong government of using "authoritarian tools" to "fabricate charges" and suppress people's rights.
Human Rights Watch denounced the "harsh sentence on baseless charges against Joshua Wong" as "cruel and unjust." Amnesty International called it "another grim reminder of how Hong Kong's National Security Law has become a tool to punish dissent."
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