Two former news editors in Hong Kong have been found guilty of sedition – the first journalists to be convicted under the law.

Stand News’ former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam face two years in prison and a fine of up to HK$5,000 (£585) after being found guilty on Thursday.

They are the first journalists to be convicted of sedition since Hong Kong’s handover from Britain to China in 1997.

Critics, including the US government and the last governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten, say their case reflects deteriorating media freedoms under the national security crackdown.

Mr Chung, 54, and Mr Lam, 36, both pleaded not guilty to conspiring to publish 17 seditious articles between July 2020 and December 2021.

Best Pencil (Hong Kong) Ltd, the outlet’s holding company, was convicted on the same charge but had no representatives during the trial, which began in October 2022.

The articles included profiles of pro-democracy candidates Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, both now in exile, an interview with UK charity Hong Kong Watch, and commentary pieces from pro-democracy activists and journalists responding to the National Security Law being introduced.

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During the trial, Mr Chung told the court he never imagined journalism could attract a sedition charge and the government’s “suppression of critical voices or opinions will cause hatred more easily” than the comment itself.

He said, while standing in the witness box for 36 days, Stand News had only “recorded the facts and reported the truth”, and had sought to reflect a spectrum of voices.

Mr Lam wrote in a mitigation letter: “The key to this case is press freedom and freedom of speech…the only way for journalists to defend press freedom is to report.”

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Stand News was once Hong Kong’s leading online media, with a mix of critical reportage and commentary.

It was forced to close after the newsroom was raided by more than 200 national security police officers in December 2021, its assets were frozen and six staff were arrested.

The remaining staff stood around a single computer as they wiped their archives in a newsroom stripped mostly bare of equipment by police.

Stand News was shut down just months after pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, whose jailed founder Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, is fighting collusion charges.

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Only Mr Chung was present in court on Thursday for the verdict. He edited or authorised most of the articles the court found to be seditious.

“When speech is assessed as having seditious intent, the relevant actual circumstances must have been taken into consideration, being viewed as causing potential damage to national security, [and] must be stopped,” wrote district Court Judge Kwok Wai-kin.

During the 57-day trial, which was only meant to be 20 days, government prosecutor Laura Ng said Stand News had acted as a political platform to promote “illegal” ideologies and incited readers’ hatred against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.

Lord Patten, who is also a patron of Hong Kong Watch, said: “It is a dark day for press freedom in Hong Kong as Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam have been found guilty for simply doing their jobs as journalists.

“The baseless allegations and verdict of this trial mark a further sinister turn for media freedom in Hong Kong, as it is clear that political commentary and opinion pieces may violate national security.

“The international community must continue to closely monitor the freedom of the press in Hong Kong, and international lawmakers should consider punitive measures to pressure the Hong Kong authorities to recommit to upholding the Basic Law and Sino-British Joint Declaration which guarantee the observance of free press, including by imposing targeted sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee.

“Lawmakers should also call for the immediate and unconditional release of all Hong Kong journalists in jail, including British citizen Jimmy Lai.”

Mr Lam and Mr Chung will be sentenced on 26 September.

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