Hong Kong veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu will face a verdict under the sedition law next week over a planned protest against what he called an “unfair” District Council race.
Chief Magistrate Victor So, a designated national security judge, is set to hand down a ruling next Friday on whether the 77-year-old activist had breached the colonial-era law for a second time, local media reported on Monday.
The activist faced trial on Monday after he pleaded not guilty to “attempting or preparing to do an act with a seditious intention.” He was said to have planned to visit the Registration and Electoral Office (REO) to protest against pro-democracy candidates not being able to run in the overhauled District Council race, which took place on December 10 last year.
Opposition parties were effectively barred from joining the “patriots-only” race, the first one held since Hong Kong changed the formation and composition method of the district-level government advisory body.
According to local media, Assistant Electoral Officer Mandy Lau testified for the prosecution on Monday that the REO learned on December 7 that a man – who she later confirmed to be Koo – planned to submit a letter to the officer.
‘Screening threshold’
The activist told Lau that he would hand in his petition before 11 am the next day and said the letter contained claims that the District Council election was “unfair” because it had a “screening threshold.” He added he would bring along a five-feet-tall coffin and joss paper, also known as “ghost money,” as props.
The District Council elections in December were the first since an overhaul that required candidates to receive a total of at least nine nominations from committees stacked with pro-establishment figures. All candidates also had to undergo national security vetting to ensure patriotism.
An officer from the National Security Department of the police told the court on Monday that they had seized a black coffin, a white plastic board, press invitations, a hammer and other items from Koo’s residence on December 8 after arresting the activist.
Under caution, Koo told the police that he had planned to chant slogans at the REO, including “end one-party rule,” local media reported citing the testimony of another officer. The white board had text written on it about supporting sanctions against Hong Kong officials, the policeman said.
A video interview police conducted with Koo also showed that the veteran activist claimed the District Council election featured candidates who “uniformly love the country and party,” the reports read. The race amounted to a “small-circle election” which deprived the public their political rights, the activist told the police.
Koo, who had no legal representation, decided not to give evidence in the trial. He said he was ready to accept his “14th imprisonment.”
So adjourned the case to next Friday for the verdict.
In July 2022, Koo was sentenced to nine months in jail under the sedition law over plans to stage a demonstration against the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing held last February.
Sedition is not covered by the Beijing-imposed national security law, which targets secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts and mandates up to life imprisonment.
Those convicted under the sedition law – last amended in the 1970s when Hong Kong was still a British colony – face a maximum penalty of two years in prison for a first offence. A subsequent offence warrants up to imprisonment of three years.
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