A Hong Kong court is set to announce a verdict on Thursday for two former editors of Stand News, a now-defunct news outlet, in a case that is being closely watched as a gauge of media freedom in the city. The former editor-in-chief and acting editor-in-chief were arrested in December 2021 and charged with conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications, marking Hong Kong's first sedition trial involving media since the city's return to Chinese rule in 1997.
Stand News, known for its critical stance against the government, was forced to shut down following a crackdown on dissent that followed the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The editors face charges under a colonial-era sedition law, with potential penalties of up to two years in prison and a fine for a first offense.
