UN calls for release of Hong Kong rights activist Ho

The United Nations on Tuesday urged the Hong Kong authorities to release Albert Ho, one of the city’s best-known rights activists, saying his health was in a critical condition.

Ho, 71, formerly led the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, which organised an annual candlelight vigil for more than three decades to mourn the victims of China’s bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

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He was arrested by Hong Kong’s national security police over alleged witness tampering, a police source told AFP.

The lawyer is already facing up to a decade in jail over an “incitement to subversion” charge under the national security law, which Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 after widespread and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

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“We are following ongoing cases under national security law with great concern,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a tweet.

“A week ago, Albert Ho was returned to custody under this law, despite his critical health condition. We urge authorities to release Ho, to continue his urgent medical care.”

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The trial in Ho’s subversion case 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.

Ho’s arrest was the latest in a series of high-profile detentions under the national security law.

© Agence France-Presse