12 sentenced to up to 7 years in jail for storming Hong Kong’s legislative council in 2019

A court in Hong Kong on Saturday handed sentences of up to seven years in prison to 12 people, including former student leader Althea Suen, actor Gregory Wong and activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow, for storming the city’s legislative council in 2019. Deputy judge Li Chi-ho imposed sentences ranging from four-and-a-half years to six years and 10 months in prison, considering each defendant’s level of participation and mitigating circumstances.

However, the actual sentences will be slightly shorter, ranging from 54 to 82 months, due to reductions applied for various reasons, such as prior guilty pleas. Two former reporters, who were acquitted of rioting, were fined up to HK$1,500 ($191) for entering the chamber. The judge said that the assault on the legislature represented a challenge to the local government and had a long-lasting impact on the city, public broadcaster RTHK reported. The events took place on the night of July 1, 2019, when hundreds of protesters broke into the Hong Kong legislative council on the 22nd anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong by the United Kingdom to China.

The rioters, wearing helmets and gas masks, destroyed several of the entrances to the complex and entered the different rooms, including the hall where the lawmakers meet. A total of 14 people were charged with rioting – which carries penalties of up to ten years in prison – and other crimes such as breaking into the legislative council chamber and criminal damage.

The incident took place among massive weeks-long democratic protests in the semi-autonomous region that year. The protests were staged against Beijing’s “excessive” interference in the city’s government and to demand the withdrawal of a contentious extradition bill and the resignation of the local chief executive, Carrie Lam. After the protests, Beijing imposed the Hong Kong national security Law, which came into force on June 30, 2020 and whose charges can carry sentences of life imprisonment for alleged cases of secession, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces. Local authorities claim that the legislation has restored stability and peace in the city, while critics and civil society groups express concern about the broad powers granted to the police, which in China have been used to silence and punish dissidents.