Journalists' bodies in India slam conviction of ex-editors by Hong Kong court

New Delhi: Journalists' bodies in India have condemned the conviction by a Hong Kong court of former editors Patrick Lam and Chung Pui-kuen in a case of sedition and demanded an end to using anti-state charges against media persons.

"The 'guilty' - verdict is a nail in the coffin for press freedom, guaranteed otherwise under Hong Kong’s 'Basic Law', which clearly protects the freedom of speech, press, and publication," the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, Press Association, Press Club of India, Indian Women Press Corps and Law and Society Alliance said in a statement.

"We urge the Hong Kong authorities to stop persecuting the media for their critical reporting…," the statement said.

The conviction of two former editors for their pro-democracy views and reports and by freezing the assets of Stand News that has led to its closure, the authorities have exhibited their determination to destroy independent journalism in the city, the statement said.

The journalists’ bodies said the conviction was the first incident against any journalist or editor since Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China in 1997.

Stand News, which closed in December 2021, was known to be openly critical of the Hong Kong government, which waged a crackdown on dissent following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.