Hong Kong’s top court overturned the convictions of three former members of a pro-democracy group, marking a rare victory in challenging the enforcement of the national security law imposed by Beijing.
The Court of Final Appeal on Thursday unanimously quashed the convictions of three defendants, including barrister Chow Hang Tung, who were sentenced to four-and-a-half months in prison for failing to assist with a national security probe.
The case centered on the government’s demand in 2021 for funding and meeting records of the Hong Kong Alliance, a now-disbanded group that organized annual vigils commemorating Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Police claimed the group was a "foreign agent” under the implementation rules of the security law, an allegation denied by the defendants.
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