A Hong Kong court on Wednesday dismissed the appeal of the prodemocratic activist Edward Leung. Leung is serving a six-year sentence for his involvement in demonstrations in the China-ruled city. The demonstrations in 2016 ended in violence.
28-year-old Leung was convicted of rioting and received the harshest jail sentence for a prodemocratic activist since the British handed Hong Kong in 1997.
He is still regarded as the spiritual leader of the democratic movement that wants independence from China. Its old slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Time” is one of the most popular protest slogans of a new generation of protesters.
The judges stated in the verdict that the law should preserve public order and peace and ensure that they are not threatened by violence.
“If public order is not monitored, citizens’ freedoms and rights will be lost,” the court said.
Leung’s lawyer had argued that his sentence was disproportionate to the facts he was guilty of. Several protesters who were more violent than Leung at the time received a lighter sentence than him.
New wave of protests expected
The rejection of Leung’s appeal comes at a time when tensions are mounting in Hong Kong. After a period of relative calm forced by the coronavirus, demonstrations will be held again in the financial heart of the city in the coming months.
Hong Kong authorities fear that the prodemocratic movement is becoming increasingly radical. The police say they have recently found explosives or materials for explosives several times in searches.
In the latest wave of protests, launched last June in response to a controversial extradition law, more than 7,800 protesters were arrested and 564 convicted of rioting. There is a maximum prison sentence of ten years.
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