Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and four other protesters were acquitted of organizing an illegal rally.
From March 2019 to June 2020, anti-extradition bill protests continued in Hong Kong. It was based on the possibility of extraditing Hong Kong citizens to mainland China. Although the entry into force of the new law was blocked, the suppression of the protests meant emigration or imprisonment for the leaders of the democratic opposition.
Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho were sentenced to eight to eighteen months. Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and Albert Ho received suspended sentences. The charges against them include: rally in August 2019, which gathered about 1.7 million people in the streets of the city.
Exemption
In a verdict handed down Monday, Judge Andrew Macrae said he and the other appeals court judges had unanimously decided to acquit the defendants of holding unauthorized meetings.
“Saying that because they were in charge of the procession they had to organize it is not a realistic or suitable substitute for proving they were involved in organizing it,” Macrae said. The appeals court decided to absolve the opposition from the charge of organizing the protests. At the same time, he maintained the penalties for participating in the protests.
The oppositionists have already served their sentences for the crime of which they have now been acquitted. However, Lai, Leung, Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan remain in jail on charges of violating national security law. The law was passed by Beijing in response to Hong Kong’s democratic protests.
The Hong Kong metropolitan area is a Special Administrative Zone. Under an agreement between the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong has a special status until 2047. However, Beijing authorities are taking actions that Hong Kong’s democratic opposition sees as an attempt to undermine the city’s status.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
