Wong, who turned 30 final month, has already been imprisoned a number of instances for his activism which began when he was a teen.
On Thursday, he arrived in courtroom carrying a darkish blue long-sleeved shirt, khaki trousers and black-rimmed glasses. He seemed slimmer in comparison with his earlier public appearances.
He nodded in greeting in direction of members of the packed public gallery, and took notes intermittently because the decide learn out the explanations for his sentencing.
A crowd had gathered outdoors the courtroom, with dozens of Hongkongers having queued for hours hoping to get a seat within the public gallery. There was additionally a heavy police presence.
Wong is already serving time for subversion and was on account of be freed early subsequent yr when he was handed the newest fees, which he has pleaded responsible to earlier in September.
Two months and two days of the 10-year time period might be served concurrently along with his ongoing sentence, the decide mentioned on Thursday.
Prosecutors mentioned that Wong had conspired with different campaigners, together with self-exiled activist Nathan Legislation, to foyer for international sanctions and blockades towards Beijing.
These actions came about between July and late November 2020, the courtroom heard.
Wong and Legislation had been co-founders of Demosisto, a now defunct pro-democracy political occasion.
Wong’s buddy and fellow activist Frances Hui, now primarily based within the US, says she is “heartbroken” and “outraged” by the decision.
“In the present day’s sentencing is not only about Joshua. It’s a part of a broader political crackdown that seeks to rewrite a chapter of Hong Kong’s historical past and erase the contributions of a complete technology who believed they might form the way forward for their metropolis,” she instructed the BBC.
Human Rights Watch described the ruling as “merciless and unjust”.
“To maintain Hong Kong society subdued, and to scale back the possibility of a world outcry, the Hong Kong authorities seems to have adopted the tactic of stacking fees towards influential pro-democracy leaders,” mentioned its Asia director Elaine Pearson.
The harshest sentence underneath the controversial nationwide safety legislation (NSL) so far has been handed to former media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was jailed for 20 years, additionally for colluding with international forces.
