Hong Kong Court Imprisons Pro-Democracy Activists

JAKARTA - Hong Kong court jailed pro-democracy activist Owen Chow for three days and fined his lawyer, Phyllis Woo, for removing documents from prison without permission.

Chow is one of 14 people convicted of being deemed involved in a conspiracy to subvert in an important national security case in May that drew international criticism.

He and Woo (31) were convicted on charges of illegal documents in July, after pleading not guilty. Chow's sentence will be added to other prison sentences he faces, while Woo was ordered to pay a fine of $ 1,800 (US $ 231).

Dilansir Reuters, Rabu, 14 Agustus, pengacara Chow, Jeffrey Tam, mengatakan dia akan mengajukan peningkatan atas hukuman dan hukuman tersebut.

Chow is currently serving a prison sentence of more than five years after being found guilty of occupying the city's legislature during pro-democracy mass protests in 2019.

During a legal visit to Lai Chi Kok's Acceptance Center on May 2, 2023, he gave Woo a "unauthorized" reporting form that was at the heart of the case.

Chow's complaint to the Hong Kong Ombudsman is related to two books about Chinese Buddhism that his family members are trying to give in prison but are banned by the Department of Corrections (CSD).

If the complaint form is sent on the right track after the security check, said Head Judge Ivy Chui, she believes the complaint form will run smoothly from prison to the Ombudsman, the administrative supervisory agency.

Chui described Chow's attempts to bypass security checks as "sembrono and stupid". He considered Woo's relatively brief experience as a lawyer and his clean criminal record in imposing fines.

During the trial, prosecutors played pictures of the visit via CCTV footage, saying Chow was "quietly" providing a complaint form to Woo after prison officials left the room.

"This case is just the tip of the iceberg where correctional staff hinder the implementation of prisoners' rights," Chow wrote in his mitigation letter.

Some of the books he was looking for have been banned by CSD for reasons that have been "connominal" for the last three years.

His cell was raided seven times after he insisted on filing a report, Chow said. He was convicted in the last raid for possessing Portuguese egg dumplings "without permission", although the dessert was part of the breakfast he had.

Chow was placed in an isolation cell, asked to exercise and take a bath alone, while all prisoners nearby were transferred.