A Hong Kong courtroom is anticipated at hand down verdicts on Thursday towards two editors of a now-defunct on-line media outlet for conspiring to publish seditious articles in a case that has drawn worldwide scrutiny.
That is the primary sedition trial towards a journalist or editor since Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China in 1997.
It is a case that critics, together with the U.S. authorities, say displays the deterioration of press freedoms on account of a years-long nationwide safety crackdown within the Chinese language-ruled metropolis.
Stand Information, as soon as Hong Kong’s main on-line media outlet with a mixture of important reporting and commentary, was raided by police in December 2021 and its property have been frozen, resulting in its closure a number of days later.
Its prime editors, Chung Pui-kuen, 54, Patrick Lam, 36, and the outlet’s guardian firm, Finest Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd, have been charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications in reference to 17 information and commentary articles between July 2020 and December 2021.
All defendants have pleaded not responsible. If convicted, they face a most sentence of two years in jail.
Through the 57-day trial, authorities prosecutor Laura Ng alleged that Stand Information had acted as a political platform to advertise “unlawful” ideologies and incited readers’ hatred towards the Chinese language and Hong Kong governments.
Ng known as the articles seditious, together with interviews with jailed or exiled pro-democracy politicians and a information article about jailed human rights lawyer Chow Grasp-tung.
International governments, together with america, and press freedom teams mentioned the case confirmed how authorities had suppressed freedoms and stepped up self-censorship because the nationwide safety regulation was handed in 2020.
“REPORT THE TRUTH”
Chung, who determined to testify in courtroom, was on the witness stand for 36 days of the trial, defending press freedoms and saying Stand Information had solely “recorded the information and reported the reality,” whereas giving voice to a spectrum of voices, together with these of Democrats.
“The media mustn’t censor itself however ought to inform,” he mentioned.
Chung burdened that they upheld the precept of publishing each article they obtained to “present the best diploma of freedom of expression,” so long as it didn’t instantly trigger violence, have an effect on public well being or trigger defamation.
Stand Information was compelled to close down and take away all of its on-line content material following a police raid.
The decision was initially scheduled to be delivered final October however was postponed thrice to attend for the Excessive Courtroom to rule on an attraction by pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi towards his conviction and sentence on costs together with sedition.
