Activist Koo Sze-yiu jailed for 9 months over protest attempt, marking his second prison sentence under Hong Kong’s colonial-era sedition law

“The defendant seized upon the district council election to call on others to reject the poll’s results, thereby instigating resistance,” said the magistrate, who was endorsed by the city leader to hear national security cases.

West Kowloon Court has convicted 78-year-old Koo Sze-yiu under the city’s colonial-era sedition law. Photo: Jelly Tse

So said the intended use of the coffin and joss paper, a protest routine Koo had established over his years of activism, conveyed a message of overthrowing the Chinese Communist regime.

He highlighted a need for a deterrent sentence in light of the defendant’s defiance of the law and to prevent copycat behaviour and a revival of the 2019 social unrest.

Koo was charged with attempting or preparing to commit an act or acts with seditious intention, which is punishable under the Crimes Ordinance by up to two years in jail for a first offence, and up to three years for subsequent transgressions.

Sedition is not among the four criminal acts outlined in the Beijing-decreed national security law, but the Court of Final Appeal decided in 2021 that the colonial-era offence was capable of threatening the country’s safety, and that legal principles applicable to national security trials applied in sedition proceedings, such as the high threshold for bail.

‘Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu arrested over sedition while heading to protest’

Koo is the first person to be twice convicted of a sedition offence since the national security law took effect in June 2020. He was previously jailed for nine months for attempting to protest against the Chinese Communist Party ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The veteran activist, who is suffering from rectal cancer, has been detained since his arrest on December 8 last year. He was taken into custody by police’s national security department that morning hours before the planned demonstration outside the Treasury Building in Cheung Sha Wan.

The trial earlier this month heard Koo had prepared protest banners claiming the city’s “one country, two systems” governing principle had been “sent to the mortuary” and that the new electoral system only allowed those loyal to the Chinese Communist Party to take part.

A police investigator said the force was concerned the intended protest might trigger violence and disorder.

Hong Kong hits back at remarks by US consulate on national security law

Koo said in a cautioned interview that opposition hopefuls were barred from running for public office under the new regime. He also accused the government of depriving residents of fundamental rights and causing a “great retrogression” in the city’s political development.

The activist appeared unfazed by Friday’s verdict and said his intention had all along been to promote democracy and freedom.

“I have taken part in peaceful petitions and demonstrations for many decades … It is my pleasure to be a fighter in this social movement. I have longed to be a warrior and martyr for democracy and human rights,” he said in his mitigation statement.

Koo said Hong Kong was experiencing “great disaster” under the rule of the Beijing-imposed national security law and an imminent domestic counterpart under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution.

He described Hongkongers as having “one foot in this world and the other in the underworld”, adding “they cannot find their graves even if they sob their hearts out”.

His comments were cut short by the magistrate, who warned him against making a political speech in court.

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