A Hong Kong district court has sentenced seven activists up to a 12-month jail term on Saturday for their role in last year's rally against China's new national security law.
Figo Chan Ho-wun, the convenor of the now-defunct Civil Human Rights Front, was given the toughest sentence among the 7 activists with 12 months in prison, Sputnik reported.
Former lawmaker Wu Chi-wai and ex-district councillor Tsang Kin-shing were each handed a 10-month jail term, given their social status, while the rest received six to eight months.
As China has strengthened control over Hong Kong through varieties of laws including the draconian National Security Law, the people of the semi-autonomous city are facing increasing policing and crackdown.
Beijing imposed a national security law on June 30 last year as a response to widespread anti-government protests in 2019 that roiled the city.
The protest took place the next day - the first full day under the new law, though civil society groups had held demonstrations on July 1 for years to champion various issues, including democratic rights.
The law criminalises any act of secession (breaking away from China), subversion (undermining the power or authority of the central government), terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with punishments of up to life in prison.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor