China court sentences 10 accused of attempting to flee Hong Kong to between 7 months and 3 years in prison

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court has sentenced 10 activists and protesters who sought to flee Hong Kong by speedboat earlier this year to between seven months and three years in jail. The court in the southern city of Shenzhen gave the harshest sentence Wednesday to one of the two accused organizers of the ill-fated Aug. 23 attempt. The defendants are believed to have feared they would be prosecuted for their activities in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The court says it won’t press charges against two minors. The sentences appear to be a warning to opposition activists against trying to evade provisions of the national security law. Hong Kong has already frozen assets and issued arrest warrants for several government opponents who have fled abroad.