Third day after Article 23 gazetted: Ma Chun-man not released early, sentence to expire by November 2025 at the latest
23條刊憲第三天 馬俊文未能提早釋放 刑期最遲2025年11月屆滿
Ma Chun-man, nicknamed the “second-generation Captain America”, was accused of repeatedly shouting Hong Kong independence slogans and displaying Hong Kong independence banners. He was convicted in 2021 of “inciting secession” and sentenced to five years in prison. Sources said Ma was originally due to be released early on Monday (25th) after a remission for good behaviour, but was ultimately not released because of new arrangements under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. His sentence will expire by November 2025 at the latest. The Correctional Services Department declined to comment on individual cases. It said that under the new arrangements, prisoners convicted of offences endangering national security may not be referred for consideration of early release unless the Commissioner is satisfied that doing so “would not be contrary to national security”. The department said there was no appeal mechanism for the Commissioner’s decision, but noted that the representations of the prisoner concerned would be considered. The Witness received no specific response to its enquiries about how representations could be made. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Tuesday (26th) that offences endangering national security were serious and that prisoners would “normally not receive sentence remission”, describing this as “a general practice”. Lee said the new arrangements were “precisely intended to tell everyone” not to put themselves above the law.
綽號「第二代美國隊長」的馬俊文，被指多次叫喊港獨口號、展示港獨標語，2021 年被裁定「煽動分裂國家」罪成，判囚 5 年。消息指，馬原定周一（25 日）在行為良好減刑下提早獲釋，但因《維護國安條例》新安排，馬最後未能獲釋。他的刑期最遲於 2025 年 11 月屆滿。 懲教署不評論個別個案，又指在新安排下，危害國安罪行的囚犯，除非署長信納「不會不利於國家安全」，否則不得轉介考慮提早釋放。署方指，署長的決定無上訴機制，但提及會考慮個案在囚人士的申述。《法庭線》查詢提出申述的方法等，未獲具體回應。 特首李家超周二（26 日）指，危害國安屬嚴重罪行，囚犯「正常嚟講都唔會獲得減刑」，又指形容是「一般做法」。李指，新安排「正正是要告訴大家」勿以身試法。