Justice chief rejects claims of ulterior motive behind sentence review that jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activists
Rimsky Yuen calls accusations groundless and says sentencing review for former Occupy student leaders was done by the book
Hong Kong’s justice minister has rejected “groundless” accusations that the government had an “ulterior motive” in securing tougher sentences for three young pro-democracy activists, who were jailed for six to eight months as a result last week.
Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung’s stout defence, in an article for the Post, came a day after Paul Shieh Wing-tai, former chairman of the Bar Association, urged the minister to explain why he had insisted on seeking to overturn the lighter sentences.
Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow are in jail because Hong Kong law demands it
Demosisto party chairman Nathan Law Kwun-chung, secretary general Joshua Wong Chi-fung and non-affiliated activist Alex Chow Yong-kang were jailed by the Court of Appeal last week for storming the government’s headquarters in 2014 in an illegal protest which triggered the Occupy pro-democracy sit-ins that paralysed the city.
They were originally given community service orders and a suspended jail term in August last year, but the justice department applied for a review and succeeded in obtaining stiffer penalties.
On Monday, the Department of Justice issued a statement rejecting speculation about “political prosecutions”.