Hong Kong law scholar Benny Tai, serving jail term for co-founding 2014 Occupy protests, gets bail
- Benny Tai gets break from jail after serving three months of 16-month sentence
- He was convicted over civil disobedience movement that brought parts of city to a standstill in 2014
A Hong Kong law scholar jailed over the 2014 Occupy movement he co-founded was granted bail on Thursday pending appeal.
Benny Tai Yiu-ting, 54, was given a break from jail by the appeal court after serving about three months in jail.
The University of Hong Kong scholar looked slimmer as he listened to Mr Justice Andrew Macrae handing down reasons for his release.
Setting foot outside court on Thursday, Tai told his supporters: “I am very proud that I can stand with you all together at this very moment. So many people love Hong Kong so much. But, the road ahead is very unclear and very tough.”
“But I am still confident that Hong Kong’s future is bright. The golden era of our city is yet to come. And I believe that time is not too far away.”
Tai and another co-founder of the protests, sociologist Chan Kin-man, were sentenced to 16 months in jail after they were convicted over the unprecedented civil disobedience movement, during which protesters brought several parts of the city to a standstill for 79 straight days seeking greater democracy.