Joshua Wong, face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, jailed for 10 years
Wong, 30, is among hundreds of Hongkongers detained under the controversial national security law.
Former Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly conspiring with foreign forces to undermine the city's national security law. Wong, who was due to be released in January, had already spent six years in jail for past activism, including leading the 2014 Umbrella Movement.
He arrived at court wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, khaki trousers, and black-rimmed glasses, and appeared slimmer than in previous appearances. Wong pleaded guilty to the charges in September, two months and two days before the latest ones. Prosecutors alleged that Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law conspired to lobby for foreign sanctions against Beijing between July and late November 2020.
Wong's friend and fellow activist Frances Hui expressed heartbreak and outrage over the verdict, calling it part of a broader political crackdown to rewrite Hong Kong's history. Human Rights Watch described the ruling as "cruel and unjust." Wong's sentencing is the harshest under the controversial national security law to date, following the 20-year jail term of former media tycoon Jimmy Lai for colluding with foreign forces.
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