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HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s chief mentioned Tuesday that individuals convicted on nationwide safety expenses would not be eligible for early launch for good behaviour, beneath a brand new legislation enacted by town’s authorities over the weekend.
His feedback got here after native media reported that democracy activist Ma Chun-man, who was convicted in 2021 for “incitement of secession” and was anticipated to be launched Monday, had been held again.
Hong Kong’s huge and at occasions violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 introduced a whole bunch of hundreds to the streets demanding larger autonomy from Beijing.
In response, authorities cracked down on protesters and Beijing imposed a nationwide safety legislation in 2020, which was supplemented by a brand new homegrown one enacted over the weekend.
“It has been made very clear that if a prisoner is serving a sentence in respect to his conviction of an offence endangering nationwide safety, the prisoner shouldn’t be entitled to remission,” chief John Lee mentioned Tuesday in regards to the new legislation when requested about Ma’s case.
Generally known as “Article 23“, the legislation additionally applies to these sentenced earlier than it was handed, he mentioned.
“The ordinance has additionally made it clear that the brand new rule applies irrespective of if the sentence of the prisoner was imposed earlier than or after the graduation of the related modification,” Lee mentioned, including exceptions might be made by the correctional providers commissioner.
The brand new legislation got here into power Saturday — two days earlier than Ma’s scheduled launch — placing into quick impact powerful penalties of as much as life imprisonment for sure nationwide safety crimes, together with treason and riot.
The brand new legislation additionally amended Hong Kong’s jail guidelines, eradicating a attainable one-third sentence discount on account of good behaviour for prisoners convicted of crimes of both the safety legislation or different offences deemed nationwide safety threats by authorities.
Ma, 34 — nicknamed “Captain America 2.0” for carrying a duplicate of the Marvel superhero’s protect at protest rallies in 2019 — was convicted of “incitement to secession” in 2021.
He had efficiently appealed to cut back his sentence by 9 months to 5 years in 2022 as attraction judges deemed his culpability as “comparatively low”.
Underneath the brand new legislation, Ma must stay behind bars for an additional 20 months.
“That is precisely telling everybody –- don’t try to hold out any acts or actions that endanger nationwide safety as remission is usually not allowed. Don’t problem the legislation,” Lee mentioned Tuesday.
Lee, who was Hong Kong’s safety chief throughout the protests and sanctioned by the US for his function, added that anybody unhappy with the choice “can search by means of authorized avenues for a court docket’s adjudication”.
The Correctional Providers Division declined to touch upon particular person instances.
“The Commissioner… will take into account the precise circumstances of the case and all related elements, together with the prisoner’s illustration,” the division mentioned in an announcement Monday.
His feedback got here after native media reported that democracy activist Ma Chun-man, who was convicted in 2021 for “incitement of secession” and was anticipated to be launched Monday, had been held again.
Hong Kong’s huge and at occasions violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 introduced a whole bunch of hundreds to the streets demanding larger autonomy from Beijing.
In response, authorities cracked down on protesters and Beijing imposed a nationwide safety legislation in 2020, which was supplemented by a brand new homegrown one enacted over the weekend.
“It has been made very clear that if a prisoner is serving a sentence in respect to his conviction of an offence endangering nationwide safety, the prisoner shouldn’t be entitled to remission,” chief John Lee mentioned Tuesday in regards to the new legislation when requested about Ma’s case.
Generally known as “Article 23“, the legislation additionally applies to these sentenced earlier than it was handed, he mentioned.
“The ordinance has additionally made it clear that the brand new rule applies irrespective of if the sentence of the prisoner was imposed earlier than or after the graduation of the related modification,” Lee mentioned, including exceptions might be made by the correctional providers commissioner.
The brand new legislation got here into power Saturday — two days earlier than Ma’s scheduled launch — placing into quick impact powerful penalties of as much as life imprisonment for sure nationwide safety crimes, together with treason and riot.
The brand new legislation additionally amended Hong Kong’s jail guidelines, eradicating a attainable one-third sentence discount on account of good behaviour for prisoners convicted of crimes of both the safety legislation or different offences deemed nationwide safety threats by authorities.
Ma, 34 — nicknamed “Captain America 2.0” for carrying a duplicate of the Marvel superhero’s protect at protest rallies in 2019 — was convicted of “incitement to secession” in 2021.
He had efficiently appealed to cut back his sentence by 9 months to 5 years in 2022 as attraction judges deemed his culpability as “comparatively low”.
Underneath the brand new legislation, Ma must stay behind bars for an additional 20 months.
“That is precisely telling everybody –- don’t try to hold out any acts or actions that endanger nationwide safety as remission is usually not allowed. Don’t problem the legislation,” Lee mentioned Tuesday.
Lee, who was Hong Kong’s safety chief throughout the protests and sanctioned by the US for his function, added that anybody unhappy with the choice “can search by means of authorized avenues for a court docket’s adjudication”.
The Correctional Providers Division declined to touch upon particular person instances.
“The Commissioner… will take into account the precise circumstances of the case and all related elements, together with the prisoner’s illustration,” the division mentioned in an announcement Monday.
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