Democracy activist Agnes Chow was denied bail on Wednesday by a Hong Kong court pending her appeal of a 10-month jail sentence for unlawful assembly during the pro-democracy protests in the city last year.

The 24-year old activist was one of several activists who pled guilty and sentenced this year for their roles in the anti-government protests outside Hong Kong police headquarters in 2019. Chow’s fellow activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law were sentenced to 13 months for his role in the protests as well.

Law, Chow and Wong founded and led youth activist group Demosisto that was disbanded out of fear of potential prosecution following the passage of China’s sweeping national security law in July.

Chow was also arrested under suspicion of “colluding with foreign forces,” a charge that could carry a sentence of life imprisonment. However, no official charges have been filed alleging such collusion.

The news comes days after the US State Department announced narrow sanctions against China in the form of visa restrictions on certain Chinese officials engaged in the spread of propaganda against groups critical of the Chinese government. The visa restrictions are the latest in a series of steps the US has made to condemn China’s efforts to limit civil rights in Hong Kong. Supporters of pro-democracy have also called upon President-elect Joe Biden to put more pressure on China to address many human rights concerns as well as the expansion of asylum policies for Hong Kong activists.

Pursuant to Hong Kong law, bail hearings are typically not published publicly, but sentencing details for Chow and her co-defendants may be found here (press release in Chinese / English).