Father of Hong Kong activist sentenced to eight months in prison

Kwok Yin-sang, the father of pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok, has been sentenced to eight months in prison by a Hong Kong court for a national security violation - the first involving a family member of a wanted activist abroad.

The 69-year-old was accused of attempting to handle the financial assets of Anna Kwok, who left Hong Kong in 2020 and is wanted by Hong Kong authorities.

He was convicted earlier this month under Article 23, a homegrown law that expands on the Beijing-imposed national security law.

Authorities say the laws, which target acts like treason and secession, are necessary for stability - though critics say they are tools to quash dissent.

Anna Kwok, who is now based in the US, is one of 34 activists wanted by Hong Kong's national security police.

The 29-year-old is accused of colluding with foreign forces, and Hong Kong authorities have put a HK$1m ($128,000; £94,000) bounty on her.

She is the executive director of the advocacy group Hong Kong Democracy Council.

Her father and brother were arrested by Hong Kong police last year on suspicion of dealing with her financial assets - though only her father was charged.

Kwok Yin-sang had tried to withdraw around $11,000 (£8,000) from an insurance policy he had bought for his daughter when she was a child. He pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, the defence argued that the insurance policy was still under Kwok's father's name and belonged to him - but prosecutors argued that Anna had automatically become the holder of her insurance policy when she became an adult.

He was found guilty on 11 February by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court.

Ahead of her father's sentencing on Thursday, Anna Kwok told the BBC that she believed her father's prosecution was aimed at silencing her advocacy abroad.

"My father's case really shows how political freedoms is reaching a new low in Hong Kong," she said. "And how the Hong Kong government, learning from Beijing, is committed to repress any sort of freedoms or any sort of campaign Hong Kongers dare to wage."

In response to queries about Kwok's case, the Hong Kong police and government told the BBC that they acted "in accordance with the law".

The government said in a statement that law enforcement actions taken against people "have nothing to do with their political stance, background or occupation".

The Hong Kong government "has the responsibility to pursue those who are suspected to have committed offences endangering national security, even if they have absconded overseas", it said.