HONG KONG: A former Hong Kong telecoms worker was jailed Tuesday for publishing personal details of police officers and their families during the huge pro-democracy protests last year, the first such conviction linked to political unrest.
Chan King-hei, 33, was sentenced to two years in jail after being convicted last month of unlawfully obtaining and disclosing personal data stored on computers at his former employer, Hong Kong Telecom.
Publishing personal details online – known as doxxing – became a common tactic used by both sides of Hong Kong’s political divide during last year’s protests.
Police became a key target for protesters as clashes raged – especially after officers stopped wearing identification badges – while government loyalists have also doxxed Beijing’s critics.
During their investigation police discovered personal information, including ID card and telephone numbers as well as residential addresses of officers and their families on Chan’s mobile phone.
They also found he had downloaded files from his company’s computers.
Some of the personal details were then shared on a Telegram channel dedicated to exposing the personal details of police officers and pro-government figures, the court said.
Hong Kong was convulsed by seven straight months of protests last year calling for greater democratic freedoms and police accountability.
Backed by Beijing, authorities refused concessions and more than 10,000 people were arrested.
The courts are now filled with prosecutions and Beijing imposed a sweeping new security law on the restless city in June.
The measures have snuffed out mass expressions of dissent but the underlying causes of the unrest remain unaddressed.
A 25-year old immigration official is currently being prosecuted for allegedly using government computers to access the personal information of over 220 individuals, including police officers, senior officials, judges and their family members.
A sophisticated and shady website called HK Leaks has also ramped up its doxxing of government critics, especially since the new national security law came in.
HK Leaks has so far posted the personal details of more than 2,000 people it deems guilty of various “misdeeds” against China. Registered on a Russian server, it is specifically designed to evade prosecution, experts say.
“It is saddening that doxxing acts often lead to cyberbullying or even criminal intimidation of the victims and their family members,” Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data Ada Chung said following Tuesday’s sentencing.
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Hong Kong man jailed for ‘doxxing’ police during protests
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Hong Kong man jailed for ‘doxxing’ police during protests
- Publishing personal details online – known as doxxing – became a common tactic used by both sides of Hong Kong’s political divide
Kyrgyzstan parliament speaker resigns after spy chief sacking
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker said Thursday he would step down, two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the Central Asian country’s powerful secret service chief and arrested political figures who called for early elections.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
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