A jailed Hong Kong activist loses appeal over denial of early release under new security law

Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — A jailed Hong Kong activist has lost his landmark legal challenge against the prison authorities’ refusal to grant him early release under the new national security law. Ma Chun-man was serving a five-year term for inciting secession under a separate, Beijing-imposed national security law. He was convicted in 2021 for repeatedly advocating for Hong Kong’s independence and had expected to be released early on March 25 based on good conduct in jail. But he was not granted sentence remission after the new security law, introduced on March 23, raised the threshold for early release of those convicted of national security offenses.