Opinion | ‘Lenient’ Hong Kong court sentences come with a warning: patience for violent protests has run out

Cliff Buddle says two court decisions this year which freed young protesters have been criticised as too light, but both rulings clearly warn that, in future, demonstrations that end in violence will be dealt with sternly

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Published: 7:00am, 10 Oct 2018Updated: 8:25am, 10 Oct 2018

A decision by Hong Kong’s top court last month to free 13 demonstrators jailed for unlawful assembly brought a dramatic tale of two protests to an end.

It took more than four years for the case, involving a protest in June 2014, to work its way through the court system, with rulings at three different levels. The judgment followed a similar ruling in February concerning another protest that year, involving three prominent young activists, including Joshua Wong Chi-fung.

The legal drama had sparked controversy, with courts coming under fire from either supporters or detractors of the protesters, depending how each judgment was viewed. Some of the comments were highly emotive, and there were even suggestions that Hong Kong’s judicial independence had been compromised.

Now that the two cases are over, there is a need for calm reflection. They reveal the city’s legal system at work, with judgments delivered, precedents reviewed, different factors weighed and sentences pronounced.

It would be easy to think that the Court of Final Appeal took a lenient view by deciding not to send any of the protesters to jail. Last month’s ruling prompted one pro-establishment politician to brand the judges “sinners of society” and “killers of young people” on social media.

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