China jails activists who supported Hong Kong democracy protests

[HellsBells]

Mainland China jails activists who supported Hong Kong democracy protests

Five individuals who staged actions in support of the 2014 demonstrations handed sentences up to 4½ years, according to their lawyers

PUBLISHED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 10:56pm
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 10:56pm

Agence France-Presse

Mainland China on Friday sentenced an activist who supported pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong to 4½ years in jail, his lawyer said.

Wang Mo was convicted of “inciting subversion of state power” by the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court, his lawyer Chen Keyun said. Guangzhou is the capital of Guangdong province, just across the border from the former colonial city.

Wang was among five people sentenced by mainland courts for the offence on Friday, according to lawyers and activists.

[Protesters demand the release of the mainland activists during a protest outside the central government’s liaison office in Hong Kong. Photo: EPA]

The student-led mass rallies in 2014 brought parts of Hong Kong to a standstill for 79 days as residents called for fully free elections for future leaders, but failed to win any concessions from the Hong Kong or central governments.

Wang held banners in Guangzhou in support of the protests, as did Xie Wenfei, who overseas activists said received the same sentence in the court.

Beijing has tightened control over civil society, detaining or interrogating more than 200 human rights lawyers and activists in what analysts have called one of the biggest crackdowns on dissent in years. Three other activists were jailed for one to four years for inciting subversion in other ways, lawyers said.

Liang Qinhui was jailed for 18 months for posting images and messages critical of the leadership and political system online, his lawyer Wu Kuiming said.

Xu Zhiqiang, a Buddhist monk also known as Master Shengguan, who has frequently advocated for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and called on officials to disclose their assets, was jailed for four years in Wuhan, his lawyer said. Huang Jingyi was jailed for two years by the same court.