Today’s conviction of nine leaders of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement on charges including ‘incitement to public nuisance’, ‘incitement to incite public nuisance’ and ‘conspiracy to public nuisance’ is, in itself, one of the biggest public nuisances in Hong Kong in recent years. And the verdict is yet another hammer blow to Hong Kong’s rapidly eroding freedoms.
The nine convicted leaders include three of the most prominent activists and figureheads of the Umbrella Movement: law professor Benny Tai, sociology professor Chan Kin-man and Baptist pastor Chu Yiu-ming. They could face up to seven years in jail.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Hong Kong Watch, and members of the US Congress and the German Bundestag have condemned the verdict, and Hong Kong’s last colonial Governor, Lord Patten, described it as ‘appallingly divisive’ and ‘vengeful’.
The Umbrella Movement protests in 2014, which continued for 79 days, were one of the most peaceful and orderly demonstrations anywhere in the world.
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