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Hong Kong protests: 7 ex-lawmakers, activists jailed for up to a year for mass rally against national security law
- All 7 pleaded guilty earlier this month for their roles in the first large-scale protest against the Beijing-imposed legislation
- Ruling marks sixth time opposition camp figures have been sentenced over unauthorised assemblies since civil unrest began in June 2019
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Seven former opposition lawmakers and activists have been jailed for up to a year for staging a mass rally against Hong Kong’s national security law last year.
Saturday’s ruling at the District Court marked the sixth time that key figures from the opposition camp have been sentenced to prison on unauthorised assembly charges connected with the months of civil unrest that began in June of 2019.
Earlier this month, each of the seven pleaded guilty to between one and three charges stemming from the rally on July 1, 2020, the first large-scale protest after the Beijing-imposed legislation went into effect the day before.
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Marches on July 1 marking the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty were previously a fixture in the city and an annual rallying point for local pro-democracy activists.
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Former convenor of the now-dissolved Civil Human Rights Front, Figo Chan Ho-wun, 25, was slapped with the heaviest sentence on a charge of inciting others to knowingly take part in an unauthorised assembly as well as two others involving organisation and participation.
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