Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Hong Kong to protest against the jailing of three young democracy activists, with many questioning the independence of the Chinese-ruled city's judiciary.
On Thursday, Joshua Wong, 20, Nathan Law, 24 and Alex Chow, 27, were jailed for six to eight months for unlawful assembly, dealing a blow to the youth-led push for universal suffrage and prompting accusations of political interference.
Thousands of people marched in temperatures above 30degC to the Court of Final Appeal, carrying placards and banners denouncing the jailing of the activists.
Former student leader Lester Shum, who helped to organise Sunday's rally, said the number of protesters was the highest since the "Umbrella Movement" pro-democracy protests in 2014 that paralysed major roads in the financial centre for 79 days.
"This shows that the Hong Kong government, the Chinese Communist regime and the Department of Justice's conspiracy to deter Hong Kong people from continuing to participate in politics and to protest using harsh laws and punishments has completely failed," Shum said.
Hong Kong police estimated 23,000 people had shown up at the height of the protest.
Ray Wong, 24, who leads the pro-independence group Hong Kong Indigenous, said outrage over the jailings was helping to unite the pro-democracy opposition camp that has been riven by divisions over the past few years.
In Sunday's protest, some signs said "Shame on Rimsky", referring to Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen. Reuters reported that Yuen had overruled other legal officials when they advised against pursuing prison terms for the three activists.
Wong and his colleagues triggered the 2014 protests, which attracted hundreds of thousands at their peak, when they climbed into a courtyard fronting the city's government headquarters.
They were sentenced last year to non-jail punishments including community service for unlawful assembly, but the Department of Justice applied for a review, seeking imprisonment.
Reuters
