Nine years in jail for the first convicted under the National Security law in Hong Kong

Leon Tong Ying-Kit, the first to be convicted under Hong Kong's dreaded National Security law, will have to serve nine years in jail.

The sentence was issued that Friday, three days after the judges found the 24-year-old man guilty of the crimes of incitement to secession and terrorism for having crashed the motorcycle he was driving against three policemen during a demonstration, in which he was carrying a flag with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Era”.

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In the sentence, the three judges have imposed on the former waiter a sentence of 6.5 years in prison for the crime of inciting secession, and another of eight years for terrorism.

Although most of them will be completed simultaneously, a total of 2.5 years of the one corresponding to terrorism will be completed consecutively, for a total of nine years.

In their sentence, the judges indicate that "the total time of the sentence reflects sufficiently the guilt of the defendant in his two crimes and the hatred of society, at the same time, to achieve the necessary deterrent effect."

First detainee

The young man had been the first detainee under the National Security law, on the first day of the measure after its promulgation on June 30 of last year.

On July 1, the anniversary of the return of the former British colony to Chinese sovereignty, the Police had banned the protest march traditionally held on that date.

Tong appeared on one of the avenues in the city center, in front of a strong police presence in riot gear, on his motorcycle and attacked three of the officers.

The slogan on a black flag was the slogan of the mass demonstrations that paralyzed the former colony in 2019.

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The judges, appointed by the autonomous government especially for this case, determined that this slogan has pro-independence connotations, while defense witnesses had stated that "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Era" had been constantly chanted during the demonstrations, it was found on graffiti and posters throughout the city and had no special meaning, beyond vindicating the system of freedoms that China has promised to respect in the enclave at least until 2047.

Freedom of expression

The court decision will have implications for free speech in Hong Kong, already undermined, according to opposition supporters, after a series of arrests and sanctions forced the shutdown of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. From now on, journalists, desks, or any member of the public may want to think twice before issuing an opinion in public that could be construed as contrary to the National Security Law. Unlike other regulations in the enclave, the final interpretation of that law rests with Beijing.

Since Tong's arrest, 117 people have been detained on charges under the National Security law, of which at least 64 have been formally charged.

The measure punishes up to life imprisonment for separatism, terrorism, subversion of the powers of the State and conspiring with foreign forces.

The sentence against the condemned man coincides with the announcement, by the Police, of the opening of an investigation after last Monday a crowd gathered in a shopping center to see the delivery of an Olympic gold to the Hong Kong fencer Edgar Cheung and drowning out the sound of the Chinese national anthem played during the ceremony with boos.

Hong Kong's National Anthem law provides penalties of up to three years in prison for anyone who is disrespectful to that tune.