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HONG KONG — Eight Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced to up to 14 months in prison on Monday for organizing, taking part in and inciting participation in a banned vigil last year for victims of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging freedoms, traditionally holds the largest June 4 vigil in the world, but police have rejected applications for the last two vigils, citing coronavirus restrictions.
Critics said authorities used the pandemic restrictions as an excuse to block the commemoration. The city government rejected that.
The sentencing is the latest blow to the city’s democracy movement, which has seen dozens of activists arrested, jailed or flee the Chinese-ruled territory since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law last year.
Hong Kong activists jailed for up to 14 months over banned Tiananmen vigil
If commemorating victims of Beijing's 1989 crackdown is a crime, then "let me suffer the punishment," activist Jimmy Lai said before the sentencing.
www.nbcnews.com
