In the Hong Kong democratic camp’s “47 pro-democracy activists primary election case,” 45 individuals have been imprisoned on charges of violating the National Security Law. Following the release of former Legislative Council member Au Nok-hin and four others at the end of last month, today (30th), four more individuals including former convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, Jimmy Sham, have been released.
According to reports from Hong Kong media, Jimmy Sham and the other three were detained in different prisons and were released in the early morning today. The other three individuals are former district councilors Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen, and Joshua Wong.
Around 5:45 in the morning, three black seven-seater cars left the Pik Uk Prison one after another. At the same time, four unmarked police cars also left the Stanley Prison. By around 6:30 am, a police car transported Jimmy Sham to his residence in Jordan.
During an interview with media reporters, Jimmy Sham expressed gratitude for the warmth he felt from the outside world during his four years in prison, including the support from his family. He also thanked those who have been writing to him, keeping him informed about the events happening in the world.
Jimmy Sham currently has no plans to leave Hong Kong.
In the 2020 pro-democracy “35+ Primary Election for Legislative Council,” police arrested 55 pro-democracy individuals for allegedly “subverting state power,” with 47 facing formal charges under the “Conspiracy to Subvert State Power” offense under the Hong Kong National Security Law, also known as the “47 individuals case.”
Among the defendants, 31 pleaded guilty, while 16 did not. Two of the 16 defendants who pleaded not guilty were found “not guilty” by the court. Subsequently, Hong Kong courts found 45 pro-democracy individuals guilty of “conspiring to subvert state power” and sentenced them in November of last year with prison terms ranging from 4 years 2 months to 10 years. Former Associate Professor of Law at the University of Hong Kong Benny Tai, considered as the “principal instigator,” received the heaviest sentence of 10 years, while former secretary-general of Demosistō Joshua Wong was sentenced to 4 years 8 months.
On the 29th of last month, the first group of 4 individuals in the same case were released, including former Legislative Council members Au Nok-hin, Tanya Chan, Kwok Ka-ki, and Frankie Fung. They were sentenced to 4 years 2 months, the shortest term imposed among the group.
The “35+ Primary Election” plan refers to the pro-democracy camp holding a primary election for the Legislative Council on July 11th and 12th, 2020, inviting voters to participate in voting with the aim of selecting pro-democracy representatives to contest in the Legislative Council elections in September of the same year (later postponed due to the pandemic), to secure more than half (35 or more) of the seats in the Legislative Council to veto all government budget proposals indiscriminately, forcing the Chief Executive to resign and the government to shut down.