Veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu has been denied bail for a third time over a planned protest against the overhauled District Council elections.

Koo, 77, appeared before Chief Magistrate Victor So at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Monday morning for a bail review hearing, wearing a black jacket over a red t-shirt.

Koo Sze-yiu
Koo Sze-yiu outside the West Kowloon Magistrates Court. File photo: League of Social Democrats, via Facebook video screenshot.

As he walked into the dock, Koo greeted members of the public gallery with a traditional Chinese gesture.

The activist has been on remand since December 8, when he was arrested by national security police for attempting or preparing to do an act with seditious intent.

💡Under court reporting restrictions on bail proceedings, written and broadcast reports are limited to only include the result of a bail application, the name of the person applying for bail and their representation, and the offence concerned.

Sedition is not covered by the Beijing-imposed national security law, which targets secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts and mandates up to life imprisonment.

Those convicted under the sedition law – last amended in the 1970s when Hong Kong was still a British colony – face a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

The activist was denied bail once when he first appeared in court early this month, and again last week at a bail review hearing.

The hearing has been adjourned to January 10.

Support HKFP  |  Policies & Ethics  |  Error/typo?  |  Contact Us  |  Newsletter  | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps

TRUST PROJECT HKFP
SOPA HKFP
IPI HKFP

Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team

press freedom day hkfp
contribute to hkfp methods
YouTube video

Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.

James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law.

Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law.