(Tokyo) – The Hong Kong High Court on November 5, 2026, sentenced Joshua Wong, a well-known democracy activist, to 10 years in prison on baseless national security charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Two months of the sentence will run concurrently with his current national security sentence. Wong has been in custody since November 2020, when he was 24, and faces imprisonment until late 2036, when he will be 40.

The Hong Kong government should immediately and unconditionally release Wong. Foreign governments should denounce the sentences against him and other wrongfully detained pro-democracy activists and impose targeted sanctions on officials responsible for Hong Kong’s growing repression.

“The harsh sentence on baseless charges against Joshua Wong is cruel and unjust,” said Elaine Pearson , Asia director at Human Rights Watch.…