By Jessie Pang
HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong court is due to sentence two former editors on Thursday who have been found guilty of sedition after publishing articles about the national security crackdown in the city under China – a ruling that has prompted an international outcry.
In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet were convicted last month – the first time journalists have been found guilty of sedition since the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997.
Chung, 55, and Lam, 36, had pleaded not guilty. Stand News, once Hong Kong’s leading online media outlet, was known for its hard-hitting reports about the city’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and later the national security crackdown.
Under Hong Kong law, they could be jailed for up to two years.
Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office, said the office was calling on Hong Kong authorities to review the court’s decision in line with obligations under international human rights law.
Twenty-three member states of the Media Freedom Coalition, including the U.S., UK and Canada, have similarly signed a statement, urging “Hong Kong and China authorities to abide by their international human rights commitments and legal obligations, and to respect freedom of the press and freedom of speech in Hong Kong.”
A spokesperson for Hong Kong’s government said in a statement that the government “strongly disapproved of and rejected the fact-twisting remarks and baseless smears” by the coalition.Hong Kong and Chinese officials have said the security clampdown – which has included tighter laws – has been needed to maintain stability after the pro-democracy protests.
During the 57-day trial, the prosecution argued that Stand News had acted as a political platform to promote “illegal” ideologies and incited readers’ hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.
Chung wrote in a letter to the court that some Hong Kongers “care about the freedom and dignity of everyone in the community and are willing to pay the price of losing their own freedom”.
“Recording and reporting their stories and thoughts truthfully is an unavoidable responsibility for journalists,” Chung wrote.
Lam wrote that “the only way for journalists to defend press freedom is to report.”
Stand News was raided by police in December 2021 and its assets were frozen, leading to its closure.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang; Additional reporting by James Pomfret; Editing by Greg Torode and Edwina Gibbs)
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