Rights group demands Chinese supporters of Hong Kong democracy be freed
Reuters
Published Sep 27, 2015 12:10PM ET
Rights group demands Chinese supporters of Hong Kong democracy be freed
By Clare Baldwin
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Amnesty International called on Monday for the release of eight mainland Chinese activists who face long prison sentences for posting messages and pictures supporting Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy protests.
Six of the activists, arrested after holding up banners with messages such as "Support Hong Kong's fight for freedom", face up to 15 years in prison.
They have been charged with "inciting subversion of state power", "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and "gathering a crowd to disrupt order in a public place".
Human Rights Watch also issued a statement last week demanding the Hong Kong government drop charges against Hong Kong activists, investigate its handling of the city's pro-democracy protests and restart the electoral reform process.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Liaison Office in Hong Kong did not respond to requests for comment. The Hong Kong police and Justice Department also did not respond to requests for comment.
The Independent Police Complaints Council has said previously it was reviewing complaints from the protests.
Monday marks the one-year anniversary of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, during which activists blocked major roads in the city for 79 days to demand open nominations for the city's next chief executive election in 2017.
While largely peaceful, the size and duration of the protests - and the fact that they took place in full view of international media, who filmed the activists using umbrellas to defend themselves against police tear gas, pepper spray and batons - raised a serious challenge to China's Communist Party, which has been tightening control over civil society.
Citing the need to buttress national security and stability, President Xi Jinping's administration has tightened government control over almost every aspect of civil society since 2012.
It has adopted a sweeping new national security law, launched a months-long campaign in state media to discredit human rights activists for undermining national stability by using social media, and recently detained dozens of lawyers and activists.
According to the Amnesty report, Chinese activist Sun Feng, who tried to travel to Beijing with his own proposal for Hong Kong electoral reform, and five others - Su Changlan, Chen Qitang, Wang Mo, Xie Wenfei and Zhang Shengyu - face up to 15 years in prison.
Activist Ji Sizun faces up to 10 years in prison and Ye Xiaozheng faces up to five.
Su said she was denied adequate medical treatment and Zhang said he was beaten and chained to a bed for 15 days, according to the report which cited the activists' lawyers.
Get The News You Want
President Xi is returning to China from a state visit to the United States.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.