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might well be within this category. For example,
was sentenced on 26 August, 1969 for offences involving
Had he been arrested and
the possession of weapons and explosives committed during 1967
received only nine months' imprisonment.
sentenced at the time of his offence, he would have possibly been
given from six to eight years' imprisonment.
3. We have also considered the precedent for the premature release
of prisoners during the Cyprus emergency. On 27 February, 1959, an
amnesty was declared. Paragraph 3 of the amnesty statement read
"Those persons serving sentences imposed for offences,
other than offences involving violence against the
person, committed for the furtherance of political
objectives during the emergency will, with the exception
of certain listed persons likely to be about twenty in
number, be released as soon as possible and in any case
not later than two months from this date."
These are
Although the situation in Cyprus in 1959 is clearly not on all fours
with Hong Kong at the present time, there are parallels.
that an emergency situation had occurred within a British Colony
involving violence and loss of life, order had been restored, and in
the broader context of ensuring further stability within the
territory and removing possible sources of future conflict,
convicted persons were given premature releases.
Of the 115
/Communist
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