Wire reporting: (AP, via Local 10)

A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under the city's national security law^1,6,9.

Wong, 30, has been in custody for nearly six years and had been expected to complete a four-year, eight-month subversion term in January^1,6,9. The judge said two months and two days of the new term will run concurrently with the sentence he is already serving¹.

A court press summary said the final sentence was 10 years⁹. Wong pleaded guilty in September^1,9. Hong Kong authorities charged him again in June 2025, saying he asked other countries and entities to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China^9,13.

Prosecutors told the court that between July and late November 2020 he conspired with other campaigners, including self-exiled activist Nathan Law, to lobby for foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing^1,7. Wong and Law had co-founded Demosisto, a now-defunct political group¹.

The national security law was imposed by Beijing in 2020 after large 2019 protests^1,13. Critics say it has been used to silence dissent; authorities say it is needed for stability and deny it has weakened the city's autonomy¹.

Wong rose to prominence in the 2014 Umbrella Movement and has faced repeated protest-related prosecutions since 2017^9,13. He was among dozens of opposition figures jailed for subversion in 2024 in the city's largest national security trial¹³. CNA said he is the only person in that group charged twice under the security law¹³.

Rights groups have said the collusion charge was meant to keep him incarcerated^9,13. Human Rights Watch called the ruling cruel and unjust, according to the BBC¹. Frances Hui, a fellow activist now in the United States, told the BBC she was heartbroken and outraged¹.

Wong arrived in court in a blue shirt and glasses, nodded to people in the gallery and later waved as he left; supporters said they would wait for his release^1,9. Police were heavily deployed outside, and dozens queued for seats^1,9.

Steve Tsang of SOAS University of London, speaking to AFP before the sentence, said Beijing saw Wong as a key 2019 leader and would keep a tight rein on Hong Kong⁹. What time he will actually serve after concurrency, and whether he will appeal, was not detailed in the reports reviewed^1,9.