China jails 10 Hong Kong activists who fled by boat for up to three years

A Chinese court has sentenced Ten Hong Kong activists as they tried to flee to Taiwan by speedboat.


They were arrested at sea and have been jailed by China for between seven months and three years.


Two minors - of the youth group dubbed the Hong Kong 12 - have been returned to Hong Kong.


The activists were caught in August as they made a rare attempt to escape the city after a harsh new security law was introduced by Beijing in June.


The case has drawn global attention and concern about the detainees' treatment. The Shenzhen Yantian District People's court sentenced Tang Kai Yin, 31, and Quinn Moon, 33, to three years and two years in jail, respectively, for organising an illegal border crossing, a statement said.


The remaining eight activists were sentenced to a "lighter punishment" of seven months in prison for illegally crossing the border, it added.


The two minors - now aged 17 and 18 - were handed over to Hong Kong police at around noon, reported AFP news agency. "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-approved [Chinese Communist Party] players were allowed in," said Beatrice Li, the sister of Andy Li, one of the jailed activists, according to Reuters news agency.


After the sentencing, rights group Amnesty International said the youths were "at risk of torture after an unfair trial".


"These sentences meted out after an unfair trial lay bare the dangers faced by anybody who finds themselves tried under the Chinese criminal system," Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific regional director Yamini Mishra said in a statement.




Source: BBC News