Hong Kong court jails former Stand News editor for 21 months on sedition

Second journalist released on health grounds; government rejects Western criticism

20240926N Hong Kong

Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News was given a sentence that allowed him to be released immediately on health grounds. © Reuters

HONG KONG (Reuters) -- A Hong Kong court on Thursday night sentenced a former editor to jail for 21 months and immediately released another after they had earlier been found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles in a ruling that has prompted an international outcry.

In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet were convicted last month -- the first time journalists have been found guilty of sedition since the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997.

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