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Hong Kong court announces verdict on Thursday against two journalists accused of sedition

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court will rule Thursday on the case of two former editors at a shuttered news channel, a case widely seen as a barometer for the future of press freedom in the city once considered a bastion of free press in Asia.

The verdict was postponed several times, partly because of the pending outcome of an appeal in another landmark sedition case.

Former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former deputy editor-in-chief Patrick Lam were arrested in December 2021. They pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications. Their sedition trial was the first in Hong Kong involving media since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Stand News was one of the last media outlets in the city to openly criticise the government amid the suppression of dissent following the massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.

It was closed just months after the closure of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, whose imprisoned founder Jimmy Lai is fighting collusion charges under a sweeping 2020 national security law.

Chung and Lam were charged under a colonial-era sedition law that has been increasingly used to suppress dissent. If convicted, they face up to two years in prison and a fine of HK$5,000 (about US$640) for a first offense.

Although the hearing was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., several reporters and dozens of residents lined up early in the morning to secure a seat in the main courtroom.

Local resident Kevin Ng, who was among the first in line, said he was a former reader of Stand News and had been following the trial. Ng, 28, said he read less news after the closure because he felt the city had lost some critical voices. He said if the editors were found guilty, he would have “mixed feelings.”

“They reported the truth and defended freedom of the press,” said the man, who works in the risk management industry.

Her case centers on 17 articles, including stories about pro-democracy ex-lawmakers Nathan Law and Ted Hui, who are among a group of overseas activists subject to bounties by Hong Kong police; interviews with three participants in a 2020 primary election organized by the pro-democracy camp; and commentary by Law and veteran journalists Allan Au and Chan Pui-man. Chan is also Chung's wife.

Prosecutors accused some of the articles of promoting “illegal ideologies” and defaming the security law and law enforcement agencies, describing Stand News as both a political platform and an online news portal.

Chung had previously denied that Stand News was a political platform and stressed the importance of freedom of expression during the trial.

“Freedom of speech should not be restricted on the grounds that dangerous ideas must be eradicated, but rather it should be used to eradicate dangerous ideas,” he said.

Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd., Stand News' holding company, faced the same charges but had no representation during the trial, which began in October 2022.

Stand News was shut down in December 2021 following a high-profile raid on its offices and arrests. More than 200 officers were involved in the operation, armed with a search warrant to seize relevant journalistic materials.

A few days after Stand News closed, independent news channel Citizen News also announced it would cease operations, citing the deteriorating media landscape and potential risks to its employees.

Hong Kong ranked 135th out of 180 territories in Reporters Without Borders' latest World Press Freedom Index, up from 80th in 2021. Self-censorship has also become more evident amid the political crackdown on dissent. In March, the city government passed another new security law that many journalists feared could further restrict press freedom.

The Hong Kong government insists that freedom of the press still exists in the city, as guaranteed in the mini-constitution.

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