The jailing of 12 Hongkongers who took part in a vigil to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown is an outrageous attack on freedom.
(source: amnestyusa.org | 15 sep 2021)
āThe jailing of 12 Hongkongers who took part in an entirely peaceful, but āunauthorizedā, vigil to commemorate the victims of Chinaās violent Tiananmen crackdown is another outrageous attack on the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
āDepressingly, this unjust verdict was entirely expected amid the accelerating collapse of human rights in Hong Kong ā exemplified by the recent targeting of the Hong Kong Alliance, the group that had long organized the Tiananmen vigil.
āIt is scandalous that the 12 people formally convicted today have been jailed despite having committed no internationally recognizable crime. Yet there may be worse to come for the organizers of the vigil ā some of whom are also facing more serious, yet no less spurious, ānational securityā charges.
āDespite the Chinese and Hong Kong authoritiesā relentless attempts to erase history by jailing people who peacefully light a candle for the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown, the continued support for the June Fourth movement in Hong Kong and around the world shows that this atrocity will never be forgotten.ā
