Seven activists jailed over their participation in the 2014 northeast New Territories protests have filed notices of appeal to Hong Kong’s top court, with the others set to do so by the end of Thursday.
Two sources familiar with the case told HKFP that Lau Kwok-leung, Ivan Lam Long-yin, Kwok Yiu-cheong, Wong Kan-yuen, Billy Chiu Hin-chung, Willis Ho Kit-wang and Kole Chow Koot-yin have filed notices of appeal to the Court of Final Appeal.
Some of the jailed protesters, including Willis Ho and Kole Chow, have also applied for bail.
In August, the activists were jailed for between eight and 13 months over their involvement in the protests outside the Legislative Council. The clashes were triggered by then-Finance Committee chair Ng Leung-sing’s attempts to end a filibuster by the pro-democracy camp over a controversial northeast New Territories development plan.
They had already finished serving their initial community service sentences handed down by the Magistrates Court, but the Department of Justice successfully sought harsher sentences.
On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal granted certification for eight of the protesters to proceed to the Court of Final Appeal. Although the remaining activists were unsuccessful, or did not make an application, they were still able to take the legal challenge directly to the city’s top court.
The court said that it granted certification “in light of the [Court of Final Appeal] determination” – referring to its decision to grant leave to democracy activists Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law, who were jailed in another 2014 clash that sparked the pro-democracy Occupy protests.
