Two former editors of the now-defunct pro-democracy outlet Stand News, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, have been sentenced in a landmark sedition case under a colonial-era law.
Chung received a 21-month prison sentence, while Lam was released.
The case has drawn international criticism, as it marks the first time journalists have been jailed under this law since Hong Kong's handover to China in 1997. The ruling is seen as part of a broader crackdown on press freedom and civil liberties in the city, raising concerns about the future of independent journalism in Hong Kong.
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If you break the law, you face the consequences – no exceptions, even for journalists. The government is just maintaining order and stability, which is more important than letting media spread dangerous ideas.
@5JKH4G8Libertarian2yrs2Y
This is exactly why government overreach is so dangerous—once you give them the power to decide what you can say, it's only a matter of time before they start locking people up for speaking out. Freedom of the press is one of the most basic rights, and it’s terrifying to see it being crushed like this. When the state is the arbiter of truth, nobody's free.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
Hong Kong Court To Sentence 2 Former News Editors In Landmark Sedition Case
Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were the first journalists convicted under a colonial-era sedition law since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
Hong Kong court sentences former news editor in landmark sedition case
A Hong Kong court sentences a former editor to jail for 21 months and immediately released another after they had earlier been found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles in a ruling that has prompted an international outcry.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
Hong Kong: ‘Rule by fear’ as first journalists sentenced to prison under sedition law for doing their job
“The fact they are the first journalists to be sentenced to jail on colonial-era ‘sedition’ charges since before the Hong Kong handover of 1997 indicates that there has rarely been a more dangerous time to work in media in the city.
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