A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced Stand News former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen to 21 months in prison, while former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam was released after his sentence was reduced because of ill health. 

Last month, the two were the first journalists to be convicted under a colonial-era sedition law since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Chung and Lam were found guilty of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious publications.

They faced up to two years in prison and a fine of 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (about $640; €574).

What was the case about?

Judge Kwok Wai-kin wrote in his verdict in August that Stand News had become a tool for smearing the Hong Kong and Chinese governments during huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.

He ruled that 11 articles that were published under Chung and Lam's leadership carried seditious intent. 

The journalists' lawyer, Audrey Eu, told the court that the articles in question represented only a small portion of the what the news outlet published. 

Chung and Lam were held behind bars for nearly a year after their arrests, before being released on bail in late 2022. Their trial began in October that year and lasted some 50 days.

Stand News, which has now closed down, was one of the last news outlets in Hong Kong to voice criticism of authorities amid a crackdown from Beijing after the 2019 protests.

The latest World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders ranked Hong Kong as the 135th out of 180 territories, down from 80th place in 2021 and 18th place in 2002. 

tj,nm/rm (AP, AFP)