Hong Kong (CNN) The first person charged and convicted under Hong Kong's national security law was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday, setting a likely precedent for how future cases will be tried. Tong Ying-kit, 24, received a six-and-a-half-year prison term for the charge of incitement to secession for carrying a large black banner emblazoned with the popular anti-government protest slogan, "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times." The national security law , which was promulgated by Beijing on June 30 last year, criminalizes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. The Hong Kong government has repeatedly denied that the law's vague parameters have been used to censor free speech or stifle political dissent. "That's now part of the fabric of understanding the national security law.

Source: CNN July 30, 2021 08:26 UTC