Two convicts for organizing the illegal border crossing were sentenced to two and three years in prison, respectively. The other eight were convicted of crossing the border and all received sentences of seven months. The Yantian People’s Court ruled that all 10 pleaded guilty. All defendants also received fines ranging from $ 1,500 to $ 3,000.
On Wednesday, China handed over two suspects under the age of 18 to Hong Kong police, who were also on the boat. Authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen said they confessed to crossing the border illegally, but were not charged.
All 12 were detained for more than 100 days before this week’s trial in Shenzhen, while their parents and politicians in Hong Kong, the United States and the United Kingdom pressed for their release. A group representing the families of the defendants stated that their loved ones had been abused in Chinese custody and denied access to their lawyers.
Shenzhen police and prosecutors have previously denied allegations of ill-treatment and said the 12 had access to legal advice, although mainland China’s practice of denying defendants the lawyer of its choice by appointing a government-appointed lawyer has been well documented. in the past.
On Monday, a US State Department spokeswoman called on Beijing to release the 12 and allow them to leave the country, adding that “the so-called ‘crime’ was to flee tyranny.”
“The treatment by the PRC authorities of these 12 people, some of whom are minors, was appalling,” the spokesman said. “The Beijing authorities are continuing their campaign to eliminate the remaining rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people, falsely equating their system of government with the party’s rule of law.”
The fate of the 12 activists has attracted considerable attention both in Hong Kong and abroad, emblematic of the worsening political and climate freedoms since the adoption of a new national security law earlier this year. The law – imposed on the city of Beijing, bypassing the semi-democratic legislature in Hong Kong – has criminalized secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces and has already had a terrible major effect on politics and debate.
Chung allegedly tried to flee the city in October, seeking asylum at the US consulate, but was rejected.
Escape routes have been steadily rising this year, exacerbated by closures and blockages around the world as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. What had been a viable, albeit risky, sea route to Taiwan was closed once the Chinese Coast Guard clarified that it was monitoring the waters around the city.
Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive in Beijing, rejected any suggestion that the Hong Kong government was aware of or involved in the case before the 12 were arrested.
The fugitives “chose to flee and, during the escape, entered another jurisdiction and committed a crime of illegal entry elsewhere,” she said in October. “We have to deal with the legal consequences in this jurisdiction. It’s as simple and straightforward as that. “
The potential for prosecution in China has been a major source of opposition to an extradition bill that launched protests last year, and the fate of the 12 appears to have confirmed many of the concerns felt in Hong Kong. Activists were reportedly denied access to adequate legal representation and were given little information about their condition.
Chinese courts – along with prosecutors and police – are overseen by the powerful Central Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Chinese Communist Party and its local subsidiaries.
In a statement, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director, Yamini Mishra, said the sentences “executed after an unfair trial showed the dangers facing anyone on trial in the Chinese criminal system.”
“Chinese authorities have shown the world once again that political activists will not receive a fair trial,” she added.