European Parliament calls for sanctions on Hong Kong officials over arbitrary detentions and crackdown on fundamental freedoms

Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the European Council to urgently impose sanctions, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, on Hong Kong officials responsible for the ongoing repression of civil liberties in Hong Kong.

MEPs strongly condemned the enforcement of the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, calling for their repeal. According to Parliament, more than 400 people have been arrested and over 180 convicted under these laws since the beginning of June 2026, contributing to what MEPs describe as the systematic dismantling of freedom of expression, media freedom, and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

The resolution specifically denounces the June 2026 arrest of bookseller Leticia Wong, the sentencing of activists Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho, and the 20-year prison sentence handed to 78-year-old British citizen Jimmy Lai. MEPs called for all charges against these individuals to be dropped and for the release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong, insisting that human rights, media freedom and the rule of law must be central to EU-China relations.

The resolution was adopted with 459 votes in favour, 12 against and 86 abstentions.

Megan Khoo, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, commented:

“This resolution sends an unambiguous message: the international community will not look away as Hong Kong’s national security laws continue to be used to silence journalists, booksellers, and pro-democracy activists. The arrest of Leticia Wong and the sentencing of Chow Hang-tung are not isolated incidents. They are part of a systematic campaign to erase the freedoms Hong Kong was promised. The EU must now follow through with real sanctions, not just words.”

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