Radio Free Asia
A court in Hong Kong on Friday found 11 people guilty of “rioting” in a 2019 National Day protest in the city’s Wong Tai Sin district, acquitting one, local media reported.
Two among the 11 convicted — who were aged 16-24 at the time of the protest — were also found guilty of possession of offensive weapons. All had pleaded not guilty.
The verdict was given in a court hearing attended by large numbers of the defendants’ friends and relatives, with some saying goodbye and taking photos together outside the court.
It came despite the judge admitting that there was no direct evidence that any of the defendants had taken part in a riot. Instead, the fact that they were in the vicinity of clashes between police and protesters and hadn’t left supported a guilty verdict.
He said the group had been found in possession of goggles, respirator masks, helmets and other items typically used by protesters to protect themselves against the huge amounts of tear gas fired by police during the 2019 protests.
In the case of defendant Lau Chi-fung, who was dressed as a first-aider, “nobody appearing at the scene in a get-up like that could be a passer-by,” Judge Edmond Lee told the court.
“It was clearly intended to show the rioters that there was a first-aid service available and that any injuries would be treated, so they could fight against the police with confidence,” Lee said.
Defendant Wong Pik-yung was acquitted because she wasn’t wearing or carrying anything that could be construed as evidence of involvement in the protests.
Even if the defendants hadn’t committed any radical acts, their presence alone would have encouraged and facilitated the riot, while most were arrested near a makeshift roadblock, Lee said.
The 11 defendants were immediately detained on remand, bursting into tears and hugging each other when the verdict was announced. Sentencing will take place on March 4.
https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/guilty-01282022122107.html
