Hong Kong: Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong slammed police yesterday for what he called a “political prosecution” after he was charged over protests which led to last year’s mass pro-democracy street rallies.
Wong, 18, who became the face of the democracy movement, is already due in court for separate charges of obstructing police at an earlier demonstration.
The teenager and other activists have accused the authorities of a witch hunt against those at the forefront of the Umbrella Movement that brought parts of the city to a standstill for more than two months.
Protesters called for fully free elections of the city’s next leader, in the face of a contentious Beijing-backed political reform package in which candidates would have been vetted by a loyalist committee.
That bill was vetoed in June in an unprecedented rebuke to Beijing, leaving the city politically polarised. Wong was charged last Thursday with “unlawful assembly, and inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly”.
The charges, which could result in a sentence of up to five years, relate to a student protest on September 26 last year during which some climbed into a square which is part of the city’s government complex.
Demonstrations were held against the arrests exploding two days later when police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Thousands more took to the streets in the wake of what they saw as heavy-handed policing.
“Today... is political prosecution,” said Wong as he entered a police station last Thursday in Wan Chai. “Being involved in the civic square action is the best mission I have made in the four years I’ve been involved in social student movements,” he said.
“I will not regret it... even if I have to pay the price.” When they emerged less than two hours later, Wong’s lawyer Michael Vidler confirmed the teen had been charged. “I think the whole rationale for proceeding a year after the event, is totally flawed,” Vidler said. “In my view it’s a clear abuse of process.”
Around 40 supporters outside the police station held up yellow umbrellas -- the symbol of the democracy movement -- and shouted “CY step down!” referring to the city’s unpopular leader Leung Chung-ying.
“The police were waiting for the right opportunity so they wanted everything to die down,” Surya Deva, associate professor at the School of Law at the City University of Hong Kong, said.
Wong and Law, 22, were brought to court last month on separate charges of obstructing police at an earlier protest in June 2014.
Both pleaded “not guilty” last month to those charges.
AFP
