A Hong Kong court has sentenced the father of a U.S.-based pro-democracy activist to eight months in prison under the city’s national security law, marking a notable escalation in the enforcement of recently expanded legal powers.

Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was convicted on Thursday of attempting to deal with financial assets belonging to his daughter, Anna Kwok, who resides in the United States and is a wanted activist accused by authorities of colluding with foreign forces.

The conviction stems from his effort to terminate an insurance policy he had purchased for her decades earlier and withdraw funds from it.

Prosecutors argued that handling the policy constituted dealing with the property of an “absconder” under Hong Kong’s Article 23 national security legislation.

This is the first case in the city brought against a family member of an activist wanted by authorities overseas.

Anna Kwok, executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, had her passport cancelled and was declared an absconder under the law after authorities offered a bounty for information leading to her arrest.

She later criticised her father’s sentencing as “guilt by blood” and “hostage taking,” arguing that he had merely sought to access funds from an insurance policy she did not control.

Acting principal magistrate Cheng Lim-chi determined that Kwok’s actions could deter his daughter from returning to Hong Kong to face charges, even though the attempted withdrawal did not pose a direct national security threat.

The security law offence carries severe penalties, but the magistrates’ court typically imposes shorter sentences.

Kwok’s lawyer had asked for a substantially lighter punishment, noting that he lacked intent to support any unlawful activity or remit funds to his daughter.

Hong Kong authorities maintain that the national security law and its Article 23 provisions are necessary to uphold stability, and that dealing with restricted assets of absconders falls squarely within the law’s scope.

The case has drawn international attention, with critics describing it as an extension of transnational repression and a troubling precedent for relatives of activists abroad.

U.S. and other Western governments have condemned the broader pattern of targeting activists overseas and applying national security laws extraterritorially.