In this file photo taken on Aug 10, 2020, police lead Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai (center) away from his home after he was arrested in Hong Kong.
(VERNON YUEN / AFP)
Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and seven other defendants appeared in the District Court on Monday on charges of inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly in Victoria Park last year.
Lai, Chow Hang-tung and Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam denied the charges against them and Judge Amanda Woodcock proceeded with their trial, which is expected to last 10 days.
Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Chow Hang-tung and Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam denied the charges against them
Lai has been found guilty for participating in three illegal assemblies in 2019 and is serving a 20-month sentence at Stanley Prison.
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Five other defendants–Lee Cheuk-yan, Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, Leung Kam-wai, Leung Yiu-chung, and former chairman of the Democratic Party Wu Chi-wai–pleaded guilty at Monday’s hearing.
The judge adjourned the proceedings for the five defendants to Nov 12 for mitigation pleas and sentencing.
They were among 26 people charged for their alleged roles in the illegal assembly at Victoria Park in June 2020. Among them, 16 pleaded guilty earlier and were sentenced to between four and 10 months in prison, while three others were given 12 months and 18 months suspended sentences.
The remaining two defendants, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang, fled the city before the trial.
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