87 Rights Groups Condemn Arrests of Activist’s Relatives in Hong Kong
A coalition of 87 international and diaspora-based human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, has strongly condemned the arrest of the father and brother of exiled US-based activist, Anna Kwok, by Hong Kong authorities. The groups described the move as a disturbing escalation in the Chinese government’s ongoing campaign of cross-border repression.
Kwok Yin-sang, aged 68 and father of the activist, has been formally charged under Hong Kong’s national security law—a statute that carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment. Her brother was also detained but has since been released on bail.
Yalkun Uluyol, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch, stated:
“The Hong Kong authorities have taken an unprecedented step by charging the relative of an exiled activist under national security laws in an attempt to silence her. This act represents a grave assault on fundamental liberties.”
The groups jointly called on foreign governments to speak out against this apparent act of transnational repression and to take concrete measures to safeguard exiled activists and dissidents from the extraterritorial reach of Beijing’s security apparatus.
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