Journal De Bruxelles - Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmaker jailed over 2019 mob attack

On July 21, 2019, a gang of more than a hundred men dressed in white shirts and carrying sticks stormed the Yuen Long railway station and pounced on commuters and other people returning from pro-democracy rallies.

The violent scenes, along with allegations of police complicity, caused widespread outrage and galvanised the huge pro-democracy movement at the time.

But the government has rebranded the incident in recent years as a clash between evenly matched sides.

Ex-lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting earlier told the court he rushed to the scene that night to protect and mediate, only to be beaten bloody by the white-clad men.

But District Court judge Stanley Chan handed Lam a prison term of three years and one month, saying that his actions at the railway station "added fuel to the fire".

In deciding the penalty, the judge noted that Lam was a well-known political figure and had shown "no remorse".

Lam is already serving a sentence of nearly seven years, having been convicted last year alongside other opposition figures under Hong Kong's sweeping national security law.

Thursday's ruling will add 34 months to his time behind bars.

Lam appeared calm and waved before he was led away, while some in the public gallery broke into tears.

He wrote in a letter last month that he had little chance to reunite with his ailing father and apologised to his wife and children.

"These years I have experienced countless arrests, prosecutions, trials and sentences," he wrote, adding that what he once believed to be right had become crimes.

The six other people, aged between 30 and 52, received sentences of up to two years and seven months.

The judge rejected arguments that the men acted in lawful self-defence and used a low level of violence, such as throwing water bottles and spraying water from a hose.

"The rioting and provocations of the white-clad men cannot become a justification for the non-white-clad men... to riot," Chan said.

Beijing has tightened its grip on Hong Kong in the wake of the 2019 protests, imposing a national security law which officials say is needed to restore order.

Political dissent has become rare as most of the city's best-known activists have been jailed or fled overseas.

But the Yuen Long attack has left a lasting stain on the reputation of Hong Kong authorities and dented public trust in the police.

Police have arrested 69 people over the attack, according to local media.

Of the 22 people charged with rioting so far, 14 of them were associated with the white-clad faction and nearly all were jailed.

Some of the men dressed in white were identified as government loyalists or as having ties to organised crime.

P.Mathieu--JdB