A Hong Kong man has been jailed for wearing a T-shirt with a protest slogan under the city’s controversial national security law, while another was jailed for writing protest messages on bus seats.
Chief Magistrate Victor So sentenced Chu Kai-pong, 27, to 14 months' jail under tougher sentencing laws created by the city's legislature in March amid an international outcry.
Mr Chu pleaded guilty to having worn a T-shirt with the protest slogan "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times".
The slogan was chanted on the streets during the months of pro-democracy demonstrations that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.
He was arrested on June 12 at a subway station wearing the shirt and a yellow mask printed with "FDNOL"- shorthand for another popular 2019 slogan "five demands, not one less".
The date marked the fifth anniversary of one of the first major actions in the protests.
The judge ruled he should be jailed for “sedition”.
"The defendant used a symbolic day to incite others to commemorate the unrest and try to revive the idea of the unrest, which poses a great risk to the social order, and the circumstances are not minor," Mr So said.
The magistrate later sentenced another Hong Kong man, Chung Man-kit, 29, to 10 months in prison in a separate security case on Thursday.
Chung was convicted of writing slogans advocating Hong Kong independence and "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" on the back of bus seats in March and April.
Under the new strict ‘National Security’ law, the maximum sentence for sedition was increased from two years to up to seven years in prison and up to 10 years if "collusion with foreign forces" is involved.
Critics, including Western governments, have said the vaguely defined provisions could be used to curb dissent.
Responding to Chu's sentencing, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement: "This is a blatant attack on the right to freedom of expression."
Amnesty urged Hong Kong authorities to repeal the law.
