Fri May 02 09:54:26 UTC 2025: ## Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Lawmaker Released After Four Years, Describes Prison as “Kafka-esque”
HONG KONG (October 28, 2024) – Claudia Mo, a former Hong Kong lawmaker and journalist, has been released from prison after serving over four years for national security offenses. Mo, a co-founder of the pro-democracy Civic Party, was one of 47 activists involved in a landmark case related to an unofficial primary election. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to subvert state power in 2022.
In her first statement since release, Mo described her prison experience as “surreal, almost Kafka-esque,” but noted that she avoided loneliness and boredom through social interactions with fellow inmates. She revealed that she spent her time reading over 300 books and improving her French. Mo expressed gratitude to her supporters, including Reporters Without Borders and Cardinal Joseph Zen, and voiced concern for her co-defendants who remain incarcerated.
Mo’s release follows the broader crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong under the 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing. While the government credits the law with restoring order, critics, including Western governments and human rights groups, view it as a suppression of freedoms.
The ongoing crackdown was highlighted Friday with the arrest of the father and brother of Anna Kwok, head of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, on suspicion of handling her finances. This arrest underscores the continued pressure on activists and their families, even those residing outside of Hong Kong.
First Piper 