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Activist Tong Ying-Kit at a court summons last year
Photo: ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP
A Hong Kong court found activist Tong Ying-Kit guilty of terrorism and incitement to secession.
The 24-year-old is the first person to be sentenced on the basis of the "security law" introduced by China in the Special Administrative Region.
Tong was arrested last year for allegedly riding his motorcycle into a group of police officers on the sidelines of protests, carrying a flag with the slogan "Free Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Time".
The prosecution interpreted the protest as inciting a riot, and the collision with the police as an act of terrorism.
The incident occurred the day after Beijing enacted the so-called Hong Kong Security Act.
The sentence will not be announced until later
How long Tong will be in custody will not be announced until Thursday.
In the worst case, they face life imprisonment.
The activist had pleaded "not guilty" on all points.
His lawyers alleged, among other things, that Tong tried to evade the police.
According to the Reuters news agency, the main focus of the process was whether the flag slogan had the potential to encourage further protests.
According to the judgment of the court, "the representation of the words was capable of inciting others to secession," it said in the judgment.
The slogan was chanted again and again in the course of the protests and was printed on books, stickers, shirts and mugs.
The new law will undermine the procedural rules otherwise customary in Hong Kong.
The trial took place in a kind of special procedure without the usual jury.
The judges were chosen by the Hong Kong Prime Minister Carrie Lam, who is loyal to China.
More than 100 other people are charged
In Hong Kong there were months of mass protests against Beijing's growing influence in 2019.
In response, the Chinese leadership passed the so-called Security Law last year, which allows the Hong Kong authorities to crack down on any activity they believe threatens China's national security.
According to Reuters, the guilty verdict against Tong had already been awaited.
The restrictive interpretation of the protest slogan now confirms that the law will further curtail freedom of speech in the Special Administrative Region.
More than 100 more people are charged under the new law.
fek / AFP / AP / Reuters
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