Hong Kong Reportedly Sentences Three Activists to Prison for Role in Protests Last Year

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A local court in China's Hong Kong administrative region has sentenced three prominent pro-democracy activists, including Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam, to prison for their role in a protest outside a police station last year, the Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), a local broadcaster, reported on Wednesday.

Wong received 13.5 months behind bars, Chow 10 months and Lam 7 months, the RTHK report said.

The three activists were jailed for taking part in a protest that local authorities defined as a "riot" outside a police station in Wan Chai on June 21 of last year.

Local authorities in Hong Kong stepped up their crackdown on activists and protesters who took part in the mass pro-democracy protests in the city last year after the Chinese authorities in Beijing passed the controversial national security law in July.

As one of the most prominent activists in the city, Wong received a number of prison sentences for his role in previous protests.

Both local authorities in Hong Kong and Chinese authorities in Beijing argued that the national security law was necessary for safeguarding China’s sovereignty and would not infringe upon the civil liberties of local residents.