Hong Konger to spend 9 years in prison in first national security law case

The first person convicted under Hong Kong's national security law has been sentenced to nine years for terrorist activities and inciting secession, judges said, in a watershed ruling with long-term implications for the city's judicial landscape.

Former waiter Tong Ying-kit, 24, was accused of driving his motorcycle into three riot police last year while carrying a flag with the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong. Revolution of our times."

Judges Esther Toh, Anthea Pang and Wilson Chan - picked by city leader Carrie Lam to hear national security cases - ruled on Tuesday that the slogan was "capable of inciting others to commit secession".

On Friday, the judges sentenced Tong to 6.5 years for inciting secession and 8 years for terrorist activities. Of these, 2.5 years will run consecutively, resulting in a total term of 9 years.

"We consider that this overall term should sufficiently reflect the Defendant's culpability in the two offences and the abhorrence of society, at the same time, achieving the deterrent effect required," they said in a written judgment.

His trial was heard without a jury, allegedly due to "a perceived risk of the personal safety of jurors and their family members or that due administration of justice might be impaired".

Tong was denied bail in line with a provision of the national security law that puts the onus on the defendant to prove they would not be a security threat if released.

READ MORE: In Hong Kong, children's tales of sheep and wolves seen as seditious

Human rights groups decry decision

The ruling has profound implications for future national security cases.

Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, have criticised Tong's conviction, saying it imposes new limits on free speech, as well as the precedents set by the trial, which they say contrast with Hong Kong's common law traditions.

The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to reporters' requests for comment.

Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have repeatedly said that all the rights and freedoms promised to the former British colony upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997 were intact, but that national security was a red line. All cases have been handled in accordance with the law, both governments have said.

At a pre-sentencing hearing on Thursday, lawyer Clive Grossman pleaded for lenience, saying any incitement was of a "minor nature" and Tong was a "decent young man" who did something "stupid".

Tong, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, was also found guilty of terrorist activities, with judges saying his motorcycle was potentially a lethal weapon and his actions "a deliberate challenge mounted against the police."

An alternative charge of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm was not considered.

Slogan focal point of trial

Tong's trial focused mostly on the meaning of the slogan, which was ubiquitous during Hong Kong's mass 2019 protests.

The arguments over its interpretation drew on topics such as ancient Chinese history, the US civil rights movement and Malcolm X.

The judges said on Tuesday they were "sure that the Defendant fully understood the Slogan to bear the meaning of Hong Kong Independence." Tong did not testify during the trial.

More than 60 people have been charged under the law, including some of the city's best-known democracy activists such as Jimmy Lai, owner of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper.

Most are now in jail awaiting trial.

READ MORE: Hong Kong arrests 117 people in first year of national security law