HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court sentenced on Saturday 12 people to jail terms of up to almost seven years in a high-profile rioting case linked to the storming of the city legislature during a pro-democracy protest in 2019.
The incident was a pivotal moment in the months-long protests that embroiled the China-ruled city in the boldest populist uprising against Chinese Communist Party rule since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing.
Protesters broke into Hong Kong’s legislative council building on July 1, 2019, smashing windows and streaming inside as public anger mounted over an “extradition” bill that would have allowed authorities to send people to mainland China for trial.
Those sentenced by district court Judge Li Chi-ho included actor Gregory Wong, 45, who had pleaded not guilty.
The political activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow, who had pleaded guilty, were also given jail terms.