A unique court docket beforehand cleared Jackie Chen of rioting after she stated she attended protests to name for restraint.
A Hong Kong court docket has convicted a social employee on expenses of rioting over her attendance at 2019 antigovernment protests.
The decision, introduced on Tuesday, discovered Jackie Chen responsible regardless of a distinct court docket having acquitted her in 2020. The case went to retrial after an attraction from Hong Kong’s Secretary for Justice, underscoring a continued crackdown on political circumstances within the Chinese language territory.
Chen stated she had sought throughout the protests to mediate between police and protesters through the use of a loudspeaker to induce police to stay calm and never use their weapons.
Nevertheless, prosecutors argued that Chen actively participated in a riot.
She pleaded not responsible, however Deputy District Choose Might Chung dominated that Chen had made unfounded accusations in opposition to police, shouting “provocative” phrases that implied that they had used extreme pressure.
“By her phrases and acts, [Chen] expressed her help of the protesters, … which bolstered their dedication and confidence to withstand the police,” the choose wrote.
Earlier than the decision, Chen advised reporters she had no regrets and had spent 5 years making ready for the end result.
“I hope all of the folks I do know will reside wholesome, they may reside completely satisfied as a result of we nonetheless have our highway to stroll alongside,” she stated.
After the ruling, she reassured her supporters within the public gallery, shouting that she could be tremendous. She is because of be sentenced in April.
Rising crackdown
Whereas Hong Kong legislation permits for a most 10-year sentence for rioting, District court docket rulings are capped at seven years.
The case has drawn consideration on account of Chen’s restricted position within the 2019 democracy protests, which posed the largest problem to Beijing’s rule over Hong Kong because the metropolis’s 1997 handover from its former colonial ruler, the UK.
The protests started over a proposed extradition invoice. It was later withdrawn, however the protests escalated into broader requires democracy and police accountability.
Beijing responded with a sweeping nationwide safety legislation, resulting in the prosecution of many activists. Authorities declare the legislation has restored stability.
Final 12 months, a court docket sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to jail phrases of as much as 10 years within the first mass sentencing since Beijing imposed the legislation.
