{"id":4236,"date":"2020-12-30T13:14:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T13:14:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=144721"},"modified":"2020-12-30T13:14:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T13:14:51","slug":"court-in-chinas-shenzen-jails-10-of-hong-kong-12-for-illegal-border-crossing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/30\/court-in-chinas-shenzen-jails-10-of-hong-kong-12-for-illegal-border-crossing\/","title":{"rendered":"Court in China’s Shenzen Jails 10 of Hong Kong 12 For ‘Illegal Border Crossing’"},"content":{"rendered":"
A court in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on\u00a0<\/span>Wednesday<\/span>\u00a0handed down jail terms of up to three years to 10 of the 12 Hong Kong protesters detained on Aug. 23 as they tried to flee a national security crackdown in the city, on charges linked to “illegally crossing a border.”<\/span><\/p>\n The Yantian District People’s Court in Guangdong’s Shenzhen city sentenced Tang Kai-yin to three years’ imprisonment for “organizing others to cross a border illegally,” while fellow activist Quinn Moon was jailed for two years on the same charge, the court said in an announcement on its Weibo account.<\/span><\/p>\n “On the morning of\u00a0<\/span>December 30th<\/span>, our court publicly sentenced Deng Jiran [Tang Kai-yin] and nine others,” the statement said.<\/span><\/p>\n “Deng Jiran was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for “organizing others to cross the border illegally” and fined 20,000 yuan,” it said. “Qiao Yingyu [Quinn Moon] was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment and a fine of 15,000 yuan.”<\/span><\/p>\n It said fellow defendants Cheng Tsz-ho, Cheung Chun-fu, Li Tsz-yin, Andy Li, Wong Wai-yin, Kok Tsz-Lun, Jim Man-him and Cheung Ming-jyu were each jailed for seven months each for “illegally crossing a border” and fined 10,000 yuan each.<\/span><\/p>\n “The [eight above defendants] were accomplices in jointly committed crimes, and were therefore given lighter sentences,” the court said.<\/span><\/p>\n The sentences mean that even those handed more lenient sentences won’t get out of jail until March.<\/span><\/p>\n Two minors released<\/strong><\/p>\n The remaining two detainees — Liu Tsz-man and Hoang Lam-fuk — were released after the authorities said they wouldn’t pursue charges against them, as they were under 18 at the time of their detention.<\/span><\/p>\n Hong Kong police confirmed that the pair had arrived back in Hong Kong and were being held in Tin Shui Wai police station at noon local time.<\/span><\/p>\n The two are still subject to mandatory quarantine at a facility run by Hong Kong’s correctional services department. They were able to call their families from the police station, and will be able to receive family visits, a police spokesperson said.<\/span><\/p>\n Liu could still face charges of arson and skipping bail, while Hoang faces the same charges as well as a charge of “possession of an offensive weapon” linked to last year’s protest movement.<\/span><\/p>\n The European Union hit out at the defendants’ trial, saying they were denied access to lawyers of their own choosing, and that the trial was effectively behind closed doors.<\/span><\/p>\n “The [Dec. 28] trial was not held in open court,” an EU spokesperson said in a statement. “Diplomatic representatives were unable to attend the court proceedings and the attendance of relatives of the detained was impeded.”<\/span><\/p>\n “The European Union calls for the immediate release of these 12 individuals and their swift return to Hong Kong,” the spokesperson said.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n