#HongKong: #Article23 law used to ‘normalize’ #repression one year since enactment

Just one year after its passage, Hong Kong’s Article 23 law has further squeezed people’s freedoms and enabled authorities to intensify their #crackdown on peaceful #activism in the city and beyond, #AmnestyInternational said.

" 'Over the past year, Article 23 has been used to entrench a ‘new normal’ of systematic repression of dissent, criminalizing peaceful acts in increasingly absurd ways,' said Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks.

" 'People have been targeted and harshly punished for the clothes they wear as well as the things they #say and #write, or for minor acts of #protest, intensifying the #ClimateIOfFear that already pervaded Hong Kong. #FreedomOfExpression has never been under greater attack.'

People convicted and jailed for peaceful expression

"The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (known as Article 23) took effect on 23 March 2024. Amnesty International’s analysis shows that 16 people have since been arrested for sedition under Article 23. Five of them were officially charged under the law, and the other 11 were released without charge. None of those arrested is accused of engaging in violence, while the authorities have accused two of them of #inciting violence without yet disclosing any details.

"Three of the charged individuals – after facing around three months’ pre-trial detention – were convicted for, respectively, wearing a T-shirt and #mask printed with protest slogans; #criticizing the government #online; and writing protest #slogans on bus seats. They were sentenced to between 10 and 14 months in prison.

"The remaining two charged people have been held in detention awaiting trial since November 2024 and January 2025, respectively. They are accused of publishing '#seditious' posts on social media platforms.

Article 23 entrenches denial of bail

"The presumption against bail in national security cases, originally imposed by the #Beijing-enacted #NationalSecurityLaw (#NSL), has now been extended to offences under Article 23. Among the five individuals charged under Article 23, the two who applied for bail had their applications denied because the magistrate believed they may 'continue to commit acts endangering national security' – the same reasoning used to deny bail to others prosecuted under the NSL, including newspaper founder #JimmyLai and opposition politicians.

"The remaining 11 individuals arrested under Article 23 are variously accused of publishing 'seditious' posts, commemorating the 1989 #Tiananmen crackdown and spreading 'disinformation'. Despite having been released by the police without official charge, they remain at risk of prosecution at any time because Article 23 does not impose a time limit on bringing criminal charges.

" 'Article 23 has been wielded by the Hong Kong government as a tool to suppress critical voices with the ultimate aim of eradicating them. Alongside the #NSL, it has handed the authorities virtually unchecked power to arrest and jail anybody criticizing the government. The result is a Hong Kong where people are forced to second-guess what they say and write, and even what they wear,' Sarah Brooks said.

" 'The now default use of pre-trial #detention and refusal of bail are alarming examples of how Article 23 has been used to reinforce the repressive tools first introduced under the NSL.”
‘#NationalSecurity’ as a trump card overriding established laws

"Article 23 has also been weaponized to impose additional punitive measures against dissidents already serving sentences. Under the existing Prison Rules, last amended in 2014, prisoners with good conduct were eligible for early release after serving two-thirds of their sentences. However, according to new rules set by Article 23, the prison authorities can waive this practice if the release would be 'contrary to the interests of national security'.

"Notably, at least two jailed activists have been denied early release, despite the fact that they were not convicted under Article 23 and had already begun serving their sentences before its enactment.

"One of the activists – who was convicted of incitement to wound, a charge unrelated to any national security legislation – was barred from early release despite Article 23 expressly stating that the new rules apply only to prisoners convicted of offences endangering national security.

" '#Retroactively denying early release based on vague national security justifications undermines legal certainty and due process. The government’s failure to comply with the very text that it drafted further raises serious concerns about the arbitrary application of Article 23,' Sarah Brooks said.

Extraterritorial application against #overseas #activists

"The worrying impact of Article 23 on human rights is not restricted to Hong Kong. Authorities have invoked Article 23’s extraterritorial scope to penalize a total of 13 Hong Kong activists residing overseas, including in the #UK, the #US, #Canada and #Australia. These penalties have included the cancellation of passports, suspension of lawyer licenses, removal from company directorships and prohibition of financial transactions, restricting a range of #HumanRights such as their freedom of movement, right to privacy and right to work.

"These measures have been imposed alongside arrest warrants issued under the NSL, each carrying a HK$1 million (US$128,700) bounty, for these 13 individuals and six other overseas activists.

" 'By sanctioning activists overseas, the Hong Kong government is attempting to extend its #DraconianLaws beyond its borders to target potentially anyone, anywhere. The situation has resulted in a chilling effect on individuals who persist in exercising their freedom of expression, even after departing from the city. The international community cannot afford to ignore Article 23’s intended extraterritorial reach,' Sarah Brooks said.

" 'We urge the Hong Kong and Chinese governments to immediately repeal Article 23, the NSL and any other legislation which violates international human rights laws and standards. We also call on other governments to safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of #Hongkongers, in particular those actively defending human rights, within their jurisdictions.

" 'The rising risk of transnational repression, which Amnesty has documented and which is explicitly tied to Hong Kong’s national security legislation, demands a response by governments worldwide. As a start, that means denouncing incidents of transnational repression and pursuing accountability for criminal acts targeting activists and others in the country of residence.'

Background

"On 19 March 2024, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council unanimously voted to pass the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance based on Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

"The law, which took effect on 23 March 2024, introduced China’s definition of 'national security' and 'state secrets', together with other broadly defined offences which further restricted freedom of expression and the right to protest. It also replaced a widely used #colonial-era #sedition law with its own provisions on sedition which now expressly cover acts or speech which do not incite violence. The maximum prison sentence for sedition was increased from two to seven years, or up to 10 years if involving 'collusion with an external force'.

"Amnesty International submitted an analysis of its proposals to the government during the consultation period, concluding that the offences and changes to investigatory powers are contrary to Hong Kong’s human rights obligations. After the law was passed, Amnesty International issued a briefing paper providing an in-depth analysis of the effects of the law on both Chinese and non-Chinese individuals, in particular via its purported extraterritorial application."

Source:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/03/hong-kong-article-23-law-used-to-normalize-repression-one-year-since-enactment/

#AntiProtestLaws #AntiProtestLaws #CriminalizingDissent #CriminalizingProtest #HumanRightsViolations #BigBrother #NeverForgetTiananmen

Amnesty International: Five Ways Our #RightToProtest is Being Threatened Around the World

by James Duggan, October 5, 2022

"All around the world, right now, peaceful protestors are being imprisoned, threatened, and face physical violence from authorities. Even at home, in #Australia, our right to stand up and speak out against injustice is being taken away. Now more than ever, it’s essential we continue to fight for our #HumanRights.

"The right to protest is a fundamental human right. #Article20 of the #UniversalDeclarationOfHumanRights states that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. The right to protest is a way for people to defend their human rights and the rights of others when they’re threatened by governments and authorities.

"Here are five places where the right to protest is currently at threat:

1. #Australia

"Right here in Australia, governments and authorities are adopting an increasingly punitive attitude towards protestors. In 2020, peaceful protestors at a #BlackLivesMatter rally in #Sydney were met with excessive and unnecessary force from #NewSouthWales Police. Police used pepper spray and chased student protestors on horseback at the University of New South Wales, and pushed them to the ground. Both protestors and bystanders were injured in the process.

"The following year, in November 2021, a #ClimateActivist was sentenced to 12 months in jail after he climbed atop a #coal train and stayed on it for five hours to protest Australia’s #climate policies. Twenty-eight other people belonging to the same activist group were also arrested in NSW that month.

"In 2022, the NSW Government announced that disrupting any bridge or tunnel in Greater Sydney as part of a protest would result in individual fines of $22,000. This is a ten-fold increase from the previous penalty of $2,200. The NSW Government also plans to introduce legislation which would mean this $22,000 fine would also apply to protestors disrupting roads and public transport facilities.

2. #HongKong

"In June 2020, a new law came into effect in Hong Kong, referred to as the #NationalSecurityLaw (#NSL). What “national security” refers to in this law isn’t well defined, and the NSL has been applied arbitrarily at the discretion of the government and authorities to suppress #dissent and political opposition.

"In September 2021, a human rights lawyer named #ChowHangTung was arrested under this law and charged with 'inciting subversion.' She faces up to ten years in prison for peacefully commemorating the 1989 #Tiananmen Square protest crackdown. During the 1989 crackdown, an undisclosed number of people, anywhere from hundreds to thousands, were killed by authorities for gathering to protest the government’s censorship laws. At least three other activists were arrested along with Chow Hang-tung in relation to the peaceful memorial of these victims.

3. #Cambodia

"In May 2021, three young activists belonging to a Cambodian environmental campaign group called #MotherNatureCambodia were convicted to between 18 and 20 months in prison. They were arrested after they announced a plan to undertake a two-person march to the #Cambodian prime minister’s house in order to express their concerns regarding plans to privatise and develop the largest remaining #lake in the country’s capital city. They were charged with 'incitement to commit a felony or disturb social order.'

"Mother Nature Cambodia have won several major #environmental victories in Cambodia. In 2016, their efforts to expose widespread environmental destruction and human rights abuses linked to the #mining and export of #sand from coastal areas of Cambodia resulted in a total export ban on #CoastalSand from the country. As a result, the group have been targeted with harassment and repression from the Cambodian government. Multiple other activists have been charged with 'incitement,' and the group has been accused of 'causing chaos in society' and labelled 'illegal' because they’re not registered under the country’s restrictive NGO Law.

4. #Russia

"The right to protest in Russia has been severely compromised since 2004, when the Federal Law on Assemblies, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets was passed. The Law on Assemblies restricts who’s allowed to organise a protest and where the protest is allowed to be held, and subjects planned protests to a strict authorisation process that often results in permission being denied.

"Since 2004, legislation has been tightened numerous times. Most recently, the Russian government introduced new, heavy penalties for anyone who protests Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine. Less than three weeks after the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, almost 15,000 peaceful protestors had been arrested. #RussianAuthorities have arrested bystanders of protests and even children. Police have used excessive force against peaceful protestors, including women, subjecting them to beatings and electrocution with stun guns.

5. #India

"In India, draconian laws such as 'the crime of sedition' have been repeatedly used against peaceful protestors, journalists and human rights defenders. The slow investigative processes and strict bail conditions under these laws mean that activists and others who speak out against injustice in their country may spend many years behind bars while their trial is ongoing.

"In 2021, a 22-year-old #EnvironmentalActivist named #DishaRavi was charged with '#sedition' for sharing an online Google document that was originally tweeted by #GretaThunberg. The document was a basic 'toolkit' for #farmers in India who were then in the midst of protests against the Indian government over newly introduced agricultural legislation. The 'toolkit' included information on the protests and how to support the movement, both in person and online. Disha is a leader of India’s #FridaysForFuture movement, an international student environmentalist movement instigated by Greta Thunberg.

Source:
https://www.amnesty.org.au/five-ways-our-right-to-protest-is-being-threatened-around-the-world/

#ForestDefenders #WaterProtectors #DirectAction #ACAB #CriminalizingDissent #EnvironmentalActivists
#ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #Fascism #SilencingDissent #CorporateColonialism
#EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations
#DefendTheDefenders #ActivismIsNotACrime #ClimateJusticeNow #ProtestIsNotACrime