China jails Hong Kong activists who fled by speedboat for up to three years

Two minors have been sent back to Hong Kong to face separate proceedings

File image: Relatives of the 12 activists facing trial in China (AP)

A court in China on Wednesday sentenced 10 people from Hong Kong to up to three years in jail for trying to illegally flee to Taiwan, while two minors have been returned to Hong Kong.

The 12 activists, aged 16 to 33 and including 11 males and one female, were detained in August in Chinese waters and taken to a prison on the Chinese mainland, where their families say they have not been permitted access to independent lawyers.

The court in Shenzhen city, which borders Hong Kong, noted that all 10 pleaded guilty to their crimes. It found eight of the 10 guilty of trying to illegally cross a border and sentenced them to seven months in jail along with a fine of 10,000 yuan (£1,130).

More severe sentences were handed to 31-year-old Tang Kai-Yin and 33-year-old Quinn Moon, who were found guilty of organising an illegal border crossing and given prison terms of three years and two years respectively, with fines of 20,000 (£2,260) and 15,000 yuan (£1,700).  

The court also claimed that the two had acted on someone else’s instruction, indicating further action would be taken in the case. 

The two minors who have been sent back to Hong Kong will appear in separate proceedings there.

A spokesperson for the Shenzhen public security bureau said that the sentences would take into account the time the 10 had already spent in detention.

However, they may face further action on their return to Hong Kong, said the city’s acting chief superintendent of the commercial crime bureau, Cheng Lai-ki.

Ms Cheng said the police want to “reiterate the seriousness of absconding; society will not tolerate criminals who are waiting for court hearing but choose to abscond.”

The case has drawn widespread international attention as well as criticism, especially from the defendants’ families who allege that independent access was not provided.

Beatrice Li, the sister of Andy Li, 30, who was among those jailed, said: “We have to remember that they were locked up in China cut off from the world, their families and lawyers of their choosing for four months before attending a mock trial where only CCP (Chinese Communist Party) approved players were allowed in.”  

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific regional director, Yamini Mishra, said: “This group of young Hongkongers will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment in Chinese jails.

“The Chinese authorities have shown the world once again that political activists will not receive a fair trial. Diplomats, journalists and family members were not allowed to observe the effectively closed-door hearing on Monday,” Ms Mishra said in a statement.  

She further said that the Hong Kong youths were deprived of the right to defend themselves through legal representation of their own choosing. “Multiple mainland lawyers attempted to represent them at the families’ request, but they have been threatened by the Chinese authorities to force them to drop the cases.”

On Monday, diplomats from several countries including the US, Britain, Canada and Australia, who tried to attend the hearing were denied entry. The US Embassy in China had also urged the Chinese authorities to immediately release the arrested Hong Kongers.

Additional reporting by agencies