Responding to the resumption of the trial of activists who organized Tiananmen vigils in Hong Kong, Amnesty International Hong Kong’s spokesperson Fernando Cheung said:
“As closing arguments begin in this trial, the Hong Kong authorities must confront the basic injustice at its heart: commemorating victims of human rights abuses is compassionate, not criminal. Holding people criminally responsible for peaceful commemoration compounds the injustice suffered by the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown.
“Throughout these trial proceedings, Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan have shown remarkable courage and dignity in the face of prosecution. They did nothing but legitimately exercise their human rights in their Tiananmen commemorations.”
Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks added:
“The prosecution’s case relies on vague, overly broad and arbitrary definitions of ‘subversion’. The charges against Chow and Lee should be dropped, and the authorities must ensure that people in Hong Kong can freely remember the events of 4 June 1989 without fear of retaliation.
