Seven of Hong Kong’s most senior and prominent pro-democracy figures, including lawyer and former legislator Martin Lee and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, have been found guilty over their involvement in an unauthorised protest rally.
After a four-week trial, the defendants were convicted on Thursday of organising and participating in the rally, joining two others who had pled guilty earlier. They could face up to 10 years in prison though their sentences are likely to be shorter than that.
The defendants included 82-year-old Lee, considered the father of democracy in Hong Kong, Lai – who is also facing a separate trail over alleged national security offences, former legislators Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho Sau-lan, lawyer Albert Ho Chun-yan, veteran activists Lee Cheuk-yan and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung. Former legislators Au-Nok-him and Leung Yiu-chung had pleaded guilty earlier.
