15 activists appear in court for roles in illegal assemblies
A group of 15 opposition figures, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, appeared in court on Monday for their roles in violent protests in Hong Kong last year.
They faced charges of inciting, organizing, and participating in multiple unauthorized assemblies from August to October.
Lai, 72, founder of Hong Kongbased newspaper Apple Daily, was charged with five counts of three unauthorized assemblies. He was suspected of organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies on Aug 18 and Oct 1, and joining another unauthorized assembly on Aug 31.
Each of the offenses, once convicted, is liable to a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Former lawmaker Leung Kwokhung, 64, was charged with a total of seven counts involving five different unauthorized demonstrations.
Another leading figure in opposition camp — General Secretary of Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions Lee Cheuk-yan, 63, faced six counts, and part-time university professor Yeung Sum, 72, faced five.
Among those arrested and charged were Martin Lee Chuming; former lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan; former legislator Albert Ho Chun-yan; Raphael Wong Ho-ming; Avery Ng Man-yuen; Sin Chung-kai; Richard Tsoi Yiucheong; Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee; former lawmaker Leung Yiuchung; Au Nok-hin; and Figo Chan Ho-wun.
Lai, Lee, and Yeung were arrested on Feb 28 for violating Hong Kong’s Public Order Ordinance by participating in an unauthorized assembly between Wan Chai and Central on Aug 31. The case was first brought to court on May 5.
Lai and other 14 activists were also arrested on April 18 on suspicion of organizing and participating in subsequent unlawful assemblies on Aug 18, Sept 30, Oct 1, Oct 19, and Oct 20. The events were grouped into three cases and first heard in court on Monday.
Principal Magistrate at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts Peter Law Tak-chuen adjourned all the cases until June 15. The defendants were granted cash bail of HK$1,000 ($129).
Lai was also charged with one count of “criminal intimidation” under the city’s Crimes Ordinance for verbally intimidating a reporter during an assembly on June 4, 2017, in the Eastern District. The case was adjourned until Aug 19.
All of these unauthorized assemblies developed into violent clashes with police and vandalism by black-clad protesters who wreaked havoc in the city. MTR stations were burnt, roads were blocked, and gasoline bombs were thrown at police officers.
In the case of the unlawful rally on Aug 31 that extended quickly from the Hong Kong Island to Kowloon, two major MTR stations — Mong Kok and Prince Edward — were heavily trashed, leading to a suspension of services for about a week.
The violence precipitated by the illegal rally on Oct 1 swept across the city, resulting in 30 police officers being injured and the arrest of more than 200 people.