Activist Leung Kwok-hung yesterday denied a charge of holding an unauthorised assembly on February 10, although police told a court he admitted at the time to being the protest organiser.
Leung, 46, of the April 5th Action Group, told Kowloon City Court there was not enough time to get police permission for the rally, which was held just three days after social worker Sunny Leung Chun-wai was jailed for yelling at a policeman through a loud-hailer.
Co-accused Christopher Fung Ka-keung, 23, and Chris Lo Wai-ming, 27, each denied one count of assisting in holding an unauthorised assembly.
Leung, who is also known as 'Long Hair' and is representing himself, and Fung, council chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, were arrested at their homes on May 9. Lo, a student activist, surrendered to police the same day after claiming police had threatened him in several phone calls.
The trial, the first of its kind since the handover, is before Chief Magistrate Patrick Li Hon-leung.
Sergeant Kuan Chung-hoi told the court Leung had admitted being the organiser of the Chater Garden protest and he failed to produce a 'letter of no objection' when the number of people at the rally reached 40.