Hong Kong scraps early release for national security convicts – Times of India

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s chief mentioned Tuesday that individuals convicted on nationwide safety prices would not be eligible for early launch for good behaviour, below a brand new regulation enacted by the town’s authorities over the weekend.His feedback got here after native media reported that democracy activist Ma Chun-man, who was convicted in 2021 for “incitement of secession” and was anticipated to be launched Monday, had been held again.Hong Kong’s huge and at instances violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 introduced tons of of 1000’s to the streets demanding higher autonomy from Beijing.In response, authorities cracked down on protesters and Beijing imposed a nationwide safety regulation in 2020, which was supplemented by a brand new homegrown one enacted over the weekend.”It has been made very clear that if a prisoner is serving a sentence in respect to his conviction of an offence endangering nationwide safety, the prisoner is just not entitled to remission,” chief John Lee mentioned Tuesday concerning the new regulation when requested about Ma’s case. Generally known as “Article 23″, the regulation additionally applies to these sentenced earlier than it was handed, he mentioned.”The ordinance has additionally made it clear that the brand new rule applies irrespective of if the sentence of the prisoner was imposed earlier than or after the graduation of the related modification,” Lee mentioned, including exceptions might be made by the correctional providers commissioner.The brand new regulation got here into drive Saturday — two days earlier than Ma’s scheduled launch — placing into fast impact powerful penalties of as much as life imprisonment for sure nationwide safety crimes, together with treason and rebel.The brand new regulation additionally amended Hong Kong’s jail guidelines, eradicating a potential one-third sentence discount as a result of good behaviour for prisoners convicted of crimes of both the safety regulation or different offences deemed nationwide safety threats by authorities.Ma, 34 — nicknamed “Captain America 2.0” for carrying a duplicate of the Marvel superhero’s protect at protest rallies in 2019 — was convicted of “incitement to secession” in 2021.He had efficiently appealed to cut back his sentence by 9 months to 5 years in 2022 as attraction judges deemed his culpability as “comparatively low”.Below the brand new regulation, Ma must stay behind bars for an additional 20 months.”That is precisely telling everybody –- don’t try to hold out any acts or actions that endanger nationwide safety as remission is mostly not allowed. Don’t problem the regulation,” Lee mentioned Tuesday. Lee, who was Hong Kong’s safety chief through the protests and sanctioned by the US for his position, added that anybody unhappy with the choice “can search via authorized avenues for a courtroom’s adjudication”. The Correctional Providers Division declined to touch upon particular person circumstances.”The Commissioner… will contemplate the precise circumstances of the case and all related components, together with the prisoner’s illustration,” the division mentioned in a press release Monday.