Gregory Wong, a Hong Kong artist, and 11 others have been imprisoned for their part in the 2019 protests that led to the squatting of the city’s legislature.
Wong served a total of just over six years in prison, one of the district court’s longer phrases on Saturday.
In addition to the prison sentences that were sentenced to prison for the pro-democracy opposition, Activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow were likewise included.
In addition, two journalists received fines at the time for breaking the law while entering the Legislative Council room.
The majority of the defendants were found innocent of violence.
Numerous protesters walked into the tower, spray-painting slogans on the walls, and carrying supplies for those who were present.
The building suffered considerable destruction, with furniture smashed and photos of political leaders torn from the rooms.
Judge Li Chi- hey on Saturday said that, as well as bodily injury, the marching had caused “long- lasting” societal outcomes.
” Aside from the actual damage to the building, it had a symbolic meaning …]which was ] challenging the Hong Kong government and even weakening its governance”, Mr Li said, according to the AFP news agency.
A strong security law was passed in response to the protests, which reduced the town’s autonomy and made it easier to prosecute protesters.
It is thought that more than 100 individuals have been arrested under the 2020 Beijing- imposed policy.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997 under the rule of “one state, two systems”. The Chinese Communist Party is accused of breaking the contract that guarantees the city’s economic and social networks and gives it a high degree of autonomy.
