August 8, 2019
A leading activist jailed over the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement has been transferred to solitary confinement after he joined Monday’s general strike while in prison.
Legal scholar Benny Tai, one of the original proponents of the 2014 street occupation protests, was sentenced to 16 months in jail in April over public nuisance charges.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Gary Fan said on Wednesday that he visited Tai in prison: “Benny Tai told me that he joined the city-wide general strike on August 5, and rejected the work assigned to him by the authorities.”
“This act went against the discipline imposed by prison authorities, therefore he is currently held in solitary confinement. It is unclear what the authorities’ next step is,” Fan wrote on Facebook.
Tai is serving his sentence at Shek Pik Prison, a high-security facility on Lantau Island. Citing an hour-long meeting with Tai, Fan said that the academic had become thinner but was still energetic.
Tai has spent a lot of time reading and was following the recent protests via the radio. He was aware of the mass arrests by the police, the lawmaker added.
In April, Tai was convicted of two charges related to public nuisance, and was sentenced to jail later that month. District court judge Johnny Chan said at the time that Tai and the other defendants did not express any regret, and the 2014 protests caused “excessive damage and inconvenience” to the public.
Tai has lodged appeals against both his conviction and sentence. His application will be heard by the court on August 15.
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Jailed Hong Kong democracy leader Benny Tai sent to solitary confinement over strike action
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Tai
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Tai (FRANCAIS)