A court in Hong Kong, China, on Saturday he condemned 12 pro-democracy activists who participated in the attack on the Legislative Council headquarters in 2019 were sentenced to between 4 and 7 years in prison.
Before the announcement of the sentences, some activists who had pleaded guilty during the trial gave pro-democracy speeches: “The crime actually committed by the demonstrators was seeking democracy, freedom of thought and action,” he said. Althea Suen, the former student body president of the University of Hong Kong, who was sentenced to 4 years 9 months in prison.
In the summer of 2019, there were many protests in Hong Kong in opposition to a law proposed by then local governor Carrie Lam, which would have allowed the extradition of Hong Kongers to China for some serious crimes such as murder and rape. Opponents saw the law as an opening for greater Chinese control over Hong Kong’s justice system, which would make it easier to crack down on political dissent in the future. On July 1, the day commemorating the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China, thousands of people took part in a demonstration. The event was largely peaceful, but a small group of masked youths approached the Legislative Council building and gained entry by breaking the building’s glass doors with metal rods and trolleys. The protesters wrote anti-Chinese slogans on the walls of the Council and occupied the chamber for three hours, until they were cleared out by the police.