Media tycoon Jimmy Lai and six others found guilty of ‘unauthorised assembly’
Seven high profile democracy supporters, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai and barrister Martin Lee, have been found guilty today of unauthorised assembly charges by a Hong Kong court.
The 73-year-old media tycoon was arrested in late February for his ‘unauthorised assembly’ at the former British colony’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and for allegedly intimidating a reporter, for which he was later found not guilty.
82-year-old barrister Lee, also known as Hong Kong’s “father of democracy”, helped launch the city’s Democratic Party in the 1990s, the largest opposition party to the Chinese Communist Party to date.
Those on trial, all in their 60s or older, will be sentenced on 16 April, with the maximum sentence being five years.
Verdict
“I have found after trial the prosecution able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that all of the defendants together organised what amounted to an unauthorised assembly,” the district court judge, Amanda Woodcock, said.
The right to peacefully protest is protected by Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, however, Woodcock added, “restrictions are imposed, including those for preserving public safety and public order, and protecting the rights of others.”
The other defendants included barrister Margaret Ng; and veteran democrats Lee Cheuk-yan; Albert Ho; Leung Kwok-hung; and Cyd Ho.
Two others, Au Nok-Hin and Leung Yiu-Chung, had earlier pleaded guilty, but all were granted bail.
“Peaceful assembly is not a crime,” shouted Leung Kwok-hung as he entered the court, according to Reuters.