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Hong Kong (AFP) – Three of Hong Kong's leading democracy activists pleaded not guilty Monday for their involvement in large-scale rallies calling for political reform, while the opposition's place in the semi-city -autonomous shrinks under an assertive China.
The pioneering trio is one of nine activists all facing prosecution for participating in the Umbrella Movement protests of 2014. The charges are based on the law of the colonial era and are punishable by law. a prison term of up to seven years.
Professor of Sociology Chan Kin-man, 59, Law Professor Benny Tai, 54, and Baptist Minister Chu Yiu-ming, 74, founded the Occupy Central movement in 2013 and joined the Umbrella movement , led by students, which brought neighborhoods from the city. for months, demanding free elections for the city leader.
Hundreds of supporters greeted the activists in court, shouting, "Peaceful resistance, I wanted a real universal suffrage!"
Attorney Andrew Bruce argued that the mass demonstrations had caused a "routine injury to the public", which had been affected by the blockage of main roads.
He accused the trio of participating in the protest and supporting it "through an illegal obstruction to public places and roads".
– & # 39; Unreasonable costs & # 39; –
Occupy Central called for the occupation of Hong Kong's business district if the public did not have a fair vote for the city leader, nominated by a pro-Beijing committee.
It was overtaken by the student movement that exploded in September 2014 when police fired tear gas at crowds.
The Occupy trio urged people to join what became the Umbrella Movement, while protesters used umbrellas to protect themselves from tear gas and pepper spray.
The movement has failed to secure a reform and since then activists have been prosecuted, some imprisoned.
On Monday afternoon, the prosecution showed the court video clips including a 2013 press conference in which the trio explained the Occupy Central movement.
In a clip, Tai said the movement's success "rested on a civic awakening," adding that civil disobedience must be "non-violent."
Speaking in court after the first day of the trial, Chan said the activists had pleaded not guilty on the grounds that the charges were "unreasonable".
The trio faces three counts of conspiracy to create a public nuisance, incitement to public nuisance and incitement to incite to a public nuisance.
Chan warned that if the deal was successful, it would infringe on freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
"I think that this lawsuit does not concern only nine of us … The high degree of autonomy and rule of law of Hong Kong is also put to the test in this lawsuit", Tai added.
Chu pointed out that the clips shown by the prosecution had highlighted "the focus of the group on peace and non-violence".
– "Paralyzing Pursuit & # 39; –
On Monday, in an editorial for the New York Times, Tai said that there had been an "assault on freedom of expression" in Hong Kong in recent years.
His remarks came after Chan said that the accused would be strengthened by his imprisonment at a farewell conference Wednesday night in front of a packed hall of more than 600 people at the Chinese University. of Hong Kong, where he had been teaching for more than two decades.
Hong Kong is governed by a "one country, two systems" agreement since its return to China by Britain in 1997.
This allows for much greater civil liberties than on the Chinese mainland, but there are growing fears that these freedoms will be eroded.
Prior to the trial, rights groups had urged the authorities to abandon what Amnesty International described as the "crippling pursuit" of the nine activists, a group of lawmakers, student leaders and party activists for democracy.
Man-kei Tam, director of Amnesty International in Hong Kong, warned that if the trial succeeds, the "real risk" of additional prosecutions for peaceful activism would be incurred.
Human Rights Watch said the prosecution had raised new questions about the extent to which the authorities were trying to "politicize the courts."
The trial in the West Kowloon Court of First Instance is expected to last 20 days.
