Latest news with #JimmySham
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Hong Kong pro-democracy and gay rights activist Jimmy Sham released after 4 years in prison
Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy and LGBTQ+ activist Jimmy Sham was released from prison on Friday after serving over four years in the city's biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law. Mr. Sham's activism made headlines during 2019 anti-government protests, when he was the convenor of a now-disbanded pro-democracy group that organized some of the biggest peaceful marches that year, including one that drew an estimated 2 million people. Mr. Sham was among 47 activists arrested in 2021 for their roles in an unofficial primary election. He was sentenced with 44 other activists last year after judges ruled that their plans to effect change through the primary would have undermined the government's authority and create a constitutional crisis. Only two of the original defendants were acquitted. Even behind bars, Mr. Sham continued to fight for recognition of his same-sex marriage registered overseas at the city's top court, which later ruled the government should provide a framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships. It was a landmark decision for the city's LGBTQ+ community. 'I feel happy. No matter whether there's a change in (my) freedom, I am definitely freer compared to yesterday,' Mr. Sham told reporters Friday after he was reunited with his family. 'But I also know many people are suffering. This makes me feel I shouldn't be too happy.' Asked if police had warned him not to talk to anyone, he said he censored himself on some sensitive questions. Sham also sounded unsure whether he was a free man. 'Maybe tomorrow, you still can see me, I am free. Maybe tomorrow, I will go back to the jail. I don't know,' he said. The activist said he has no plans to leave Hong Kong for now. "So what I can do in the future and what I should, and where the red line lies, I still have to figure it out again.' Mr. Sham and three other activists freed on Friday — Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong — are the second batch to be reunited with their families, following the release of four pro-democracy former lawmakers last month. The years of separation have pained the activists and their relatives. The case involved democracy advocates across the spectrum. They include legal scholar Benny Tai, who got a 10-year prison term, and former student leader Joshua Wong, who has to serve four years and eight months. Critics said the national security law has effectively crushed the city's pro-democracy movement, but Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist it brought back stability to the city. Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said in a press briefing Thursday that those who were jailed for national security offenses and freed from correctional facilities enjoy freedoms, including freedom of expression, like other residents. He said their conviction would not affect a certain aspect of their freedoms.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Hong Kong pro-democracy and gay rights activist Jimmy Sham released after 4 years in prison
HONG KONG — Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy and LGBTQ+ activist Jimmy Sham was released from prison on Friday after serving more than four years in the city's biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law. Sham's activism made headlines during 2019 anti-government protests, when he was the convener of a now-disbanded pro-democracy group that organized some of the biggest peaceful marches that year, including one that drew an estimated 2 million people. Sham was among 47 activists arrested in 2021 for their roles in an unofficial primary election. He was sentenced with 44 other activists last year after judges ruled that their plans to effect change through the primary would have undermined the government's authority and create a constitutional crisis. Only two of the original defendants were acquitted. Even behind bars, Sham continued to fight for recognition of his same-sex marriage registered overseas at the city's top court, which later ruled the government should provide a framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships. It was a landmark decision for the city's LGBTQ+ community. 'I feel happy. No matter whether there's a change in (my) freedom, I am definitely freer compared to yesterday,' Sham told reporters Friday after he was reunited with his family. 'But I also know many people are suffering. This makes me feel I shouldn't be too happy.' Asked if police had warned him not to talk to anyone, he said he censored himself on some sensitive questions. Sham also sounded unsure whether he was a free man. 'Maybe tomorrow, you still can see me, I am free. Maybe tomorrow, I will go back to the jail. I don't know,' he said. The activist said he has no plans to leave Hong Kong for now. 'So what I can do in the future and what I should, and where the red line lies, I still have to figure it out again.' Sham and three other activists freed on Friday — Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong — are the second batch to be reunited with their families, following the release of four pro-democracy former lawmakers last month. The years of separation have pained the activists and their relatives. The case involved democracy advocates across the spectrum. They include legal scholar Benny Tai, who got a 10-year prison term, and former student leader Joshua Wong, who has to serve four years and eight months. Critics said the national security law has effectively crushed the city's pro-democracy movement, but Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist it brought back stability to the city. Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said in a press briefing Thursday that those who were jailed for national security offenses and freed from correctional facilities enjoy freedoms, including freedom of expression, like other residents. He said their conviction would not affect a certain aspect of their freedoms. Leung writes for the Associated Press.
2 days ago
- Politics
Hong Kong pro-democracy and gay rights activist Sham released after 4 years in prison
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy and LGBTQ+ activist Jimmy Sham was released from prison on Friday after serving over four years in the city's biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law. Sham's activism made headlines during 2019 anti-government protests, when he was the convenor of a now-disbanded pro-democracy group that organized some of the biggest peaceful marches that year, including one that drew an estimated 2 million people. Sham was among 47 activists arrested in 2021 for their roles in an unofficial primary election. He was sentenced with 44 other activists last year after judges ruled that their plans to effect change through the primary would have undermined the government's authority and create a constitutional crisis. Only two of the original defendants were acquitted. Even behind bars, Sham continued to fight for recognition of his same-sex marriage registered overseas at the city's top court, which later ruled the government should provide a framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships. It was a landmark decision for the city's LGBTQ+ community. 'I feel happy. No matter whether there's a change in (my) freedom, I am definitely freer compared to yesterday,' Sham told reporters Friday after he was reunited with his family. 'But I also know many people are suffering. This makes me feel I shouldn't be too happy.' Asked if police had warned him not to talk to anyone, he said he censored himself on some sensitive questions. Sham also sounded unsure whether he was a free man. 'Maybe tomorrow, you still can see me, I am free. Maybe tomorrow, I will go back to the jail. I don't know,' he said. The activist said he has no plans to leave Hong Kong for now. "So what I can do in the future and what I should, and where the red line lies, I still have to figure it out again.' Sham and three other activists freed on Friday — Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong — are the second batch to be reunited with their families, following the release of four pro-democracy lawmakers last month. The years of separation have pained the activists and their relatives. The case involved democracy advocates across the spectrum. They include legal scholar Benny Tai, who got a 10-year prison term, and former student leader Joshua Wong, who has to serve four years and eight months. Critics said the national security law has effectively crushed the city's pro-democracy movement, but Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist it brought back stability to the city. Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said in a press briefing Thursday that those who were jailed for national security offenses and freed from correctional facilities enjoy freedoms, including freedom of expression, like other residents. He said their conviction would not affect a certain aspect of their freedoms.
The Independent
2 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Hong Kong frees four more pro-democracy activists jailed in national security trial
Four more of the '47 democrats' jailed in the Hong Kong national security trial were released on Friday, ending over four years of incarceration. The second group of pro-democracy activists to be released in a month, they were convicted of hatching a conspiracy to commit subversion by organising an unofficial primary election in July 2020. They were sentenced last November. Jimmy Sham and fellow former district councillors Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong left prison in the early hours of Friday in a seven-seater vehicle with curtains drawn. They went straight to their residences, Hong Kong Free Press reported. Mr Sham led one of Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which was disbanded in 2021. The group had helped organise big marches during the pro-democracy protests of 2019 which grew violent at times and had a major impact on business and tourism. "Let me spend some time with my family," he said after reaching home in Kowloon. "I don't know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels like today is my first day of understanding the world again. So, as for what I can do or should do in the future or where is the red line, I feel like I need to explore and figure it out all over again.' The pro-democracy activists were found guilty of organising an unofficial "primary election" in 2020 to pick candidates for a legislative election that was later postponed. The prosecutors said the activists were plotting to paralyse the government by engaging in potentially disruptive acts once elected. Their trial under the national security law was denounced as 'politically motivated' by the US and its allies who demanded their release. Beijing and Hong Kong rejected the allegations saying everyone was equal under the law and these activists had received a fair trial. In late April, Hong Kong had released former lawmakers Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-Ki, Jeremy Tam, and Gary Fan from prison. China has cracked down heavily on opposition groups in Hong Kong since the 2019 protests and also targeted the liberal civil society and media outlets under sweeping and contentious national security laws imposed in 2020. Of the '47 democrats' arrested in the wake of the 2019 protests, 45 were convicted following a marathon trial and given sentences as long as 10 years. Two were acquitted.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Freed HK Democracy Activist Says Needs To Figure Out 'Red Lines'
A leading face of Hong Kong's quashed democracy movement told reporters he would have to figure out "where the red lines are" following his release from prison on Friday, after more than four years behind bars. Jimmy Sham was one of 45 opposition figures jailed for subversion after holding an informal election primary in 2020, in what was the city's largest national security case. The 37-year-old was one of four people released on Friday after serving their sentences -- the second batch from the 45 to be freed in recent months. "It's the first day, so I'm still trying to figure out what I can and should do in the future, and where the red lines are," Sham told local media reporters. Civil and political rights in the city have been curtailed since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, after enormous and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before. Sham was the convenor of the now-defunct Civil Human Rights Front, one of the marches' largest organising groups. A well-known LGBTQ activist, Sham wore a locally designed T-shirt featuring a parade of cartoon creatures waving a rainbow flag as he was released. While he was in jail, judges ruled on a case he had brought asking the city's top court to strike down Hong Kong's same-sex marriage ban. "(The case) was a blessing to me. I was in a mild depression... It made me feel as if something could change, and it made me feel empowered," he said Friday. Judges rejected same-sex marriage but ordered the government to set up an "alternative legal framework" to protect same-sex couples' rights. "It's a shame that the case was lost, but having a framework that can be established (in the future) has been a big change," Sham said. But after four years and three months in jail, he said he had a lot to catch up on and learn from others. "I think I am out of touch with society," he said, adding he wanted to spend time with his family before anything else. He walked free along with three former district councillors, Roy Tam, Henry Wong, and Kinda Li. Their release follows that of ex-legislators Claudia Mo, Jeremy Tam, Kwok Ka-ki and Gary Fan, also part of the 45, in late April. Sham said he had "mixed feelings" about his freedom. "I've experienced a lot of unhappiness and powerlessness, so I hope we can all pull ourselves together, and try to get on with our lives anyway," he said. "I won't leave Hong Kong at this moment, as many who are meaningful to me are still staying here," he added.
