On Saturday, a court in Hong Kong issued prison sentences to 12 people, accused of storming the city’s Legislative Council building at the height of anti-government protests in 2019.
Hundreds of demonstrators poured into the Legislative Council on the night of July 1, 2019, the twenty-second anniversary of the return of the former British colony to China, and distorted pictures and smashed furniture.
Some slogans were painted in the hall and the region’s logo was drawn on the wall before the site was evacuated, while riot police used tear gas to evacuate the area before entering inside.
The 12 defendants, including former student leader Althea Suen, actor Gregory Wong, and activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow, had previously been convicted of hooliganism. Some of them were also convicted of other related charges.
Judge Li Qi Ho handed down prison sentences ranging from 4 and a half years to 6 years and 10 months, depending on the degree of their involvement and mitigating factors.
Lee said the legislature had a unique constitutional status and that the nature of the event was serious and had far-reaching impact.
The case also included two other defendants who were journalists. They were previously acquitted of rioting charges, but they were convicted of illegal entry into the legislature. Lee issued a ruling fining one of them 1,500 Hong Kong dollars ($192) and the other 1,000 Hong Kong dollars ($128).
After the verdicts were handed down, some of the defendants’ supporters cried in the courtroom and others waved to the defendants.
Lau said at a hearing on Monday that he entered the legislature hoping to reduce the number of infections, stressing that even if he could choose 100 times, he would rather go to prison because he would rather go to prison than see someone get hurt.
“Since I sympathize with the protesters, I am willing to go to prison with them,” he said.
At the same hearing, Zhao said that when residents suddenly turned to extremism, it was actually their cry of despair when all roads leading to their goal were blocked.
Both Lau and Zhao were among 47 pro-democracy activists charged with subversion in 2021 over an unofficial primary election under a national security law imposed by Beijing.
The Hong Kong government said that enacting the law contributed to restoring stability to the city after the massive protests in 2019. But many of the city’s prominent activists were arrested under the law, while others fled abroad.
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