Jimmy Lai, 74, owner of the now-closed pro-democracy Apple Daily, was convicted of unlawful assembly alongside former journalist Gwyneth Ho and human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung .

The court found them guilty, among other things, of inciting and participating in an unauthorized assembly.

The sentences will be pronounced Monday.

Authorities have indicted around 20 politicians and pro-democracy activists following a vigil last year in honor of victims of Beijing's deadly crackdown in 1989.

Mr. Lai and his co-defendants, Chow Hang-tung and Gwyneth Ho, are the last to know their verdict, as they had pleaded not guilty.

Lawyer and pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung, in March 2021 in Hong Kong Peter PARKS AFP / Archives

They claimed that they had gone to light candles in their personal capacity and had not "instigated" others to join a banned gathering.

"Act of defiance"

Wanchai District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock rejected these arguments and sentenced them on charges such as inciting and participating in an unauthorized rally.

"The reality is that any intention to go out and participate in the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park that night was an act of defiance and protest against the police," the judge said.

Mr. Lai, Ms. Chow and Ms. Ho are already behind bars, like dozens of other activists, and face separate prosecutions under strict National Security Law.

"The Hong Kong government has once again flouted international law by condemning activists simply for participating in a peaceful vigil," Amnesty International said in a statement.

Pro-democracy activist Gwyneth Ho on August 4, 2020 in his office in Hong Kong Anthony WALLACE AFP

"People should be free to mourn and peacefully remember the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown - and prosecuting people for this is a blatant attack on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly," the NGO added. .

For more than three decades, every June 4, tens of thousands of people gathered in Victoria Park, to participate in these vigils in commemoration of the bloody repression in 1989 of Tiananmen Square in China.

These rallies, during which slogans were chanted in favor of democracy in China, had become one of the symbols of the political freedoms enjoyed by the semi-autonomous territory.

This year, Beijing has made it clear that it will no longer tolerate such commemorations in Hong Kong or Macau.

A few months ago, sixteen political leaders and activists, including Joshua Wong, the most famous face of the Hong Kong protest, were sentenced to six to ten months' imprisonment for their participation in 2020 in this vigil, and a few received suspended sentences.

Pro-Beijing activist calls for "heavy sentence for Jimmy Lai" in Wanchai District Court in Hong Kong on December 9, 2021 Bertha WANG AFP

Opponents see the ban on vigils and legal proceedings as a way for China to leave its authoritarian mark on Hong Kong, after the huge and often violent pro-democracy protests of 2019.

In June 2020, Beijing imposed a draconian national security law on the city, aimed in particular at criminalizing any dissent.

Over 70 people have been charged under this legislation, and over 140 have been arrested, including Tony M. Lai, Ms. Chow and Ms. Ho.

© 2021 AFP