28th March 2023 – (Hong Kong) The United Nations has called for the release of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Albert Ho, citing his critical health condition. Ho, 71, is known for leading the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, which organised the annual candlelight vigil for over 30 years to commemorate the victims of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.
Arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police on charges of alleged witness tampering, Ho is already facing up to a decade in jail for incitement to subversion under the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020. The UN Human Rights Office expressed great concern over the ongoing cases under the national security law and urged authorities to release Ho to continue his urgent medical care.
Ho’s subversion case trial is pending, and he was granted bail in August after spending almost a year in prison. His bail conditions included a gag order on any speech deemed a threat to national security. However, Ho’s arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile detentions under the national security law.