Hong Kong jails ‘Grandma Wong’ for eight months over pro-democracy protest

A 66-year-old activist, Alexandra Wong, popularly known as Grandma Wong was imprisoned in Hong Kong in connection with a pro-democracy protest that shook the city three years ago. The activist was found to have taken part in two illegal meetings, and principal magistrate Ada Yim emphasized her usage of flags and chants to invite others to do the same. A city court sentenced to eight months in prison for these two charges of unlawful assembly committed on August 11 during a protest and well-known for flying the union jack of the United Kingdom. The activist criticised the government as an ‘authoritarian regime,’ reported by The Guardian.

However, the activist is no stranger to Court, in spite of Hong Kong’s harsh national security law, she has persisted to hold one-woman demonstrations in front of the city’s courthouses in support of other pro-democracy activists throughout their hearings. The activist has previously been found guilty of a number of other protest-related offenses like on in January conviction for refusing to give her an ID, and pushing a court security guard led to a one-month term.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

A similar instance happened a day earlier, when a different city magistrate handed down a nine-month prison term for “attempted sedition” to Koo Sze-plans yiu, 75 years old and terminally ill with late-stage colon cancer, to demonstrate against the Beijing Winter Olympics. This judgment was handed down the same week that a report by a US congressional panel monitoring China’s progress on human rights.

In connection with the protests three years ago, more than 10,500 people have been detained and more than 2,900 of them have been charged.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.