4 former Hong Kong student leaders jailed over their praise of a knife attack on a police officer

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Four former student leaders from the University of Hong Kong have been sentenced to two years in prison for inciting people to wound others through their praise of a man who stabbed a police officer before killing himself in 2021. The three are being held responsible for their roles in passing a motion in the students union council that appreciated the “sacrifice” of the man. The motion came against the backdrop of widespread anger against the police, who were condemned as being heavy-handed in quelling the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Handing down the jail terms on Monday, the judge said a lenient sentence would send “the wrong message” to society.