Hong Kong District Court handed down sentences on Sep. 1 to seven democracy activists for their involvement in an unauthorized rally during mass anti-government protests in 2019.
Six of the seven are currently serving terms in prison for convictions related to other unauthorized rallies. The Sept. 1 sentence will be served concurrently with the previous jail terms.
The only exception is Raphael Wong, former chairman of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) political party, who was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
![Chan Po-ying (L-2) and three other members from the League of Social Democrats held a banner that reads “peaceful demonstrations are innocent, shame to political prosecution” outside Wanchai Law Court in Hong Kong on Sep. 1, 2021. (Sung Pi-lung/The Epoch Times)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F09%2F01%2FHong-Kong-court-600x400.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
Judge Amanda Woodcock said that while the city’s mini-constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, procession, and demonstration, those rights are “not absolute.”
Other pro-democracy advocates and political figures came to the courthouse to voice their support for the activists.
“We hope everyone understands that this is a political prosecution,” Chan Po-ying, the chairwoman of LSD, said outside court.
The case marks the latest punishment to be handed down against representatives of the city’s beleaguered pro-democracy movement.
Hong Kong has seen a drastic curtailment of its freedoms since Beijing imposed a draconian national security law last June, a move that has drawn international condemnation. Since then, dozens of pro-democracy figures have been charged under the law or similar offenses.
Tong was the first person convicted under the national security law. The sweeping law criminalizes four broadly defined categories of offenses, including secession, subversion, and collusion with a foreign country. Persons found guilty of violating this law can face up to life in prison.
More than 100 people have been arrested under the national security law, leading to more than 60 charges, mostly against democratic politicians, activists, journalists, and students.