Portuguese Consulate seeking information on citizen charged under sedition law

The Consulate General of Portugal in Macau is collaborating with Hong Kong authorities after a Portuguese citizen was denied bail after being held in custody in the neighboring region for allegedly “publishing seditious articles online disparaging Beijing and local authorities.”

Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is said to be “aware that a citizen holding a Portuguese passport is being detained in Hong Kong.”

An official government source said, “at the moment, the ministry, through the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau, is working with Hong Kong authorities to ascertain more facts, as well as informing the family, with whom we have made contact.”

Joseph John, holder of a Portuguese passport, lives in London and is a project engineer at the Royal College of Music.

Recently, according to a report issued by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), he traveled back to Hong Kong to take care of his mother who was suffering from dementia.

During this time he allegedly published posts that authorities have deemed to have seditious intent on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram and website of the Hong Kong Independence Party – a website that was deregistered in November 2018 after being created in 2014.

According to SCMP, John faces a charge of conspiracy to do an act or acts with seditious intent over allegedly offensive statements and pictures posted on the website of the Hong Kong Independence Party, as well as the group’s accounts on four social media platforms, from October 9 to November 1 this year.

Media reports noted that Hong Kong prosecutors have asked for the case to be delayed for 12 weeks, until January 26, so that police can inspect John’s three mobile phones, his laptop computer and his bank account.