Hong Kong: 16-year-old activist convicted of rioting in protests

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Protests in Hong Kong: In the summer of 2019 there were mass demonstrations against the government close to Beijing

Photo: Philip Fong / AFP

In the summer of 2019, mass protests broke out in Hong Kong against the Beijing-affiliated government under Carrie Lam.

Again and again there were clashes between demonstrators and police.

Now a 16-year-old activist has been sentenced to detention in a juvenile detention center for rioting and arson.

The youth pleaded guilty in a court in the Chinese Special Administrative Region on Wednesday of throwing a Molotov cocktail at police officers on the sidelines of a pro-democracy demonstration in 2019.

At the time of his arrest in November 2019, the boy was 14 years old.

The youth is the youngest defendant to be found guilty in connection with the 2019 mass protests.

How long he will remain in prison is yet to be decided by the prison authorities.

However, the Hong Kong court set a minimum duration of one month.

In total, the juvenile may not be detained for more than six months.

"The court must find the balance between social interests and helping young offenders," said Judge Ernest Lin in the verdict.

More than 10,000 people have been arrested in connection with the mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

40 percent of those arrested are schoolchildren or students.

47 prominent democracy activists arrested

In response to the mass protests, the Chinese authorities introduced the so-called security law for Hong Kong in June last year.

The law represents the most serious encroachment on Hong Kong's autonomy status to date, and allows the authorities to crack down on any activity that they believe threatens China's national security.

On the basis of the security law, Hong Kong police arrested 47 prominent democracy activists last Sunday, including former MPs, academics, lawyers and young activists.

They are accused of "conspiracy to overthrow".

The court hearings against the suspects in a court in Hong Kong will continue this Wednesday.

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