Lee Cheuk Yan, general secretary of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU), was sentenced by a Hong Kong court on 16 April 2021 to 18 months in prison for organising and participating in pro-democracy events in August 2019. Four other democracy defenders also received prison sentences, and five more were handed suspended sentences.
Lee and six other activists were found guilty on 1 April 2021 of unauthorised assembly for their part in the 2019 protests, deemed illegal under the new National Security Law. The law, imposed by Beijing in June 2020, had been used to systematically target, intimidate and undermine democratic civil society organisations, notably trade unions. Lee was a particular target, given his very high-profile role in defending fundamental workers’ rights and democratic rights.
Lee’s conviction was in contravention of both national and international law. Article 39 of the Hong Kong Basic Law protects the right to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and political participation, as it incorporates International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 87, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
