8 months ago
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HONG KONG: A
Hong Kong
court on Thursday found two editors of the now-defunct
Stand News
media outlet guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles in a case that has drawn international scrutiny amid a security crackdown in the China-ruled city.
The two editors, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, could be jailed for up to two years when they are sentenced on Sept.
26. Their conviction is the first for
sedition
against any journalist or editor since Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China in 1997. Stand Newswas raided in Dec 2021, and had its assets frozen, leading to its closure. Chung and Lam had pleaded not guilty, with only Chung present in
court
on Thursday for the verdict. He edited or authorised most of the articles that the court found to be seditious. Several international media freedom advocacy groups criticised this court's ruling. During the trial, Chung, who chose to testify in court, was in witness box for 36 days, defending media freedoms.
English (US)