The District Court of Hong Kong sentenced Portuguese national and former president of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Independence Party Joseph John on Thursday to five years in prison for conspiring to incite others to commit secession under the China-imposed National Security Law. John is the first European citizen jailed under the law.

John was convicted in February of inciting others to commit secession by posting seditious statements on the Hong Kong Independence Party’s social media accounts between July 1, 2020 and November 1, 2022. According to the case details, John advocated for Hong Kong to be independent on 42 social media posts spanning six different platforms. 35 of the posts were published after the China-imposed National Security Law was implemented.

In sentencing John, District Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung said that John distorted history and demonized the Chinese government by advocating for Hong Kong to be independent on social media. He also said that John’s posts displayed ignorance toward the international political climate and that the social media posts were premeditated as they were posted on the party’s social media accounts and website for more than 28 months.

Lin lowered John’s sentence from six and a half years to five years after John pleaded guilty. John was initially charged under the colonial-era sedition law, which warrants a maximum of two years imprisonment. However, the prosecution in March charged him with the more serious offense of secession under the China-imposed National Security Law.

The Hong Kong Independence Party was registered as a Britain-based political party in 2015. John previously claimed during police investigations that he did not publish any of the party’s posts. However, evidence showed that John had access to all the accounts and a business card stating that he was president of the party. The party had more than 7,000 followers on Facebook and around 2,000 on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

The China-imposed National Security Law was promulgated and applied in Hong Kong on June 30, 2020 to safeguard national security. At least 265 individuals aged between 15 and 90 have been arrested under the National Security Law since its implementation.

Previously, on January 10, the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts sentenced Hong Kong activist Chu Kai-poon to three months in prison on sedition charges. Chu was arrested on November 27, 2023 for wearing a shirt with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” at the Hong Kong International Airport. Chief Magistrate So said that Chu’s actions risked revitalizing the 2019 Hong Kong protests.