Joshua Wong shouts ‘I love Hong Kong’ as more than 40 leading democracy leaders handed lengthy prison terms in mass trial

Hong KongCNN — More than 40 of Hong Kong’s best known pro-democracy figures have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 10 years on subversion charges, in the biggest single blow to the city’s already shrinking political freedoms following Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on dissent.

Among those handed sentences on Tuesday was Joshua Wong, a former student leader and poster child of the city’s once thriving pro-democracy movement, who shouted “I love Hong Kong” before he left the dock.

All 45 defendants – including former high-profile lawmakers, activists, unionists and journalists – received prison sentences ranging from 50 months to 10 years in the largest single prosecution to date under a national security law imposed by Beijing four years ago. The total prison time handed down by judges amounted to more than 240 years.

Beijing ramped up its crackdown on opposition voices in the once free-wheeling city after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests convulsed the international financial hub in 2019.

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Source: https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/18/world/hong-kong-democracy-leaders-sentencing-intl-hnk/index.html

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