Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters appeared in court today after being charged with rioting, setting the stage for further unrest in a weeks-long crisis that has rocked the global financial hub.
The announcement last night that 44 people had been charged with rioting - an offence that carries a jail term of up to 10 years - immediately triggered another round of clashes between police and protesters.
Supporters continued to voice their outrage this morning as they stood outside court, braving heavy winds and rain, before the proceedings started.
'Release the righteous... no rioters, only tyranny... reclaim Hong Kong, the revolution of our times,' they chanted. Police said yesterday that 44 people had been charged with rioting and one other with possessing offensive weapons. The accused set up roadblocks, broke fences, damaged street signs and attacked police officers with bricks and iron rods, law enforcement said in a statement.
Forty-three protesters, including 28 men and 16 women aged between 16 and 41, appeared at Eastern Court in front of a packed galley today, according to South China Morning Post.
The protesters were generally calm as they took turns to appear in front of the judge, who formally read the charges and granted bail.
The range of their professions reflected the wide support across Hong Kong society for the pro-democracy movement.
They included a teacher, a nurse, an airline pilot, a barber, a chef, an electrician, a construction worker and unemployed people, according to their charge sheets.
All were released on bail with a vast majority given a midnight curfew. They have to hand over their travel documents and are not allowed to go out in the hours from midnight to 6 a.m. Their sentencing is scheduled for September 25.
The curfew exemptions were given to two individuals, a night-shift worker at a children's home and a pilot.
The magistrate has issued an arrest warrant for a 44th protester charged with rioting who did not appear in court today, South China Morning Post said. The individual has been named 22-year-old Yan Hoi-ying who is a clerk.
The 45th defendants, a 24-year-old student, who was charged with possessing offensive weapons has also been granted bail.
Hundreds of supporters of the defendants braved heavy rain and strong winds outside court for nearly five hours to demand their release and condemn the pro-Beijing government's handling of the on-going protests. Hong Hong Legislative members and pro-democracy activist Kwok Ka-ki condemned the city's authorities to reporters as he stood among the supporters: '[What] we witness today is that SAR government [is] using strong criminal offences to prosecute 44 young people. The origin of the conflict is not the young people.'
He continued: 'But Carrie Lam and her administration and the Hong Kong police, they are using an unreasonable force, using tear gas, rubber bullets and all sorts of violent equipment to hit the young people.'
Mr Kwok added that the government's method would not 'heal' Hong Kong.
Amnesty International has also challenged the Hong Kong authorities' charges against the protesters, calling the act 'a chilling warning'.
Man-kei Tam, Director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said: 'By using such vague charges against pro-democracy protesters, the Hong Kong authorities seem intent on sending a chilling warning to anyone considering taking part in future protests.
'While there was violence over the weekend, the definitions of illegal assembly and rioting under Hong Kong law are so broad they fall far short of international standards. It is highly questionable that individuals facing these sweeping charges would have a fair chance of defending themselves at trial.'
He added: 'Many people in Hong Kong will today be questioning why charges have been swiftly brought against pro-democracy protesters, yet no-one involved in the vicious beatings at Yuen Leung station more than a week ago has so far been charged.
A group of club-wielding mobsters, mostly wearing white T-shirts, broke into a subway station late at night on July 21 to beat up passengers, including a pregnant woman. Many of the victims were wearing black T-shirts and on their way home from an earlier demonstration. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has endured more than seven weeks of unrest that began with a government bid to introduce a law that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.
The protests evolved into a movement for deeper democratic reforms and an end to eroding freedoms, in the most significant challenge to Beijing's rule since the city's handover from Britain in 1997.
In the latest confrontation, police used pepper spray and batons against hundreds of protesters who had gathered outside a police station in solidarity with those who had just been charged.
Footage broadcast live on television showed an officer aiming a shotgun at protesters who were throwing objects at him.
The previous two weekends had seen a surge in the level of violence used by both protesters and police, who repeatedly fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse projectile-throwing crowds.
A mob of pro-government thugs also attacked protesters, putting 45 people in hospital.The 44 protesters were charged for their alleged role in running battles between police and protesters in a well-heeled residential neighbourhood on the main island on Sunday.
The range of their professions and ages reflected the wide support the pro-democracy movement enjoys.
They included a student, a teacher, a nurse, an airline pilot, a barber, a chef, an electrician, a construction worker and an unemployed person, according to their charge sheets.
Police had earlier said a total of 49 people, aged between 16 and 41, had been arrested over Sunday's unrest.The move to charge protesters with rioting came a day after Beijing publicly threw its weight behind Hong Kong's unelected leader Carrie Lam and the police, saying violent protesters must be swiftly punished.
'No civilised society or rule of law society will tolerate rampant violence,' Yang Guang, spokesman for the cabinet-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, told reporters.
But while Beijing has issued increasingly shrill condemnations of the protests, it has left the city's government to deal with the situation.Lam has shown no sign of backing down beyond agreeing to suspend the extradition bill, and has made few public appearances.
Protesters have vowed to keep their campaign going until their core demands are met.
They include Lam's resignation, an independent inquiry into police tactics, an amnesty for those arrested, a permanent withdrawal of the bill and the right to elect their leaders.
Under the terms of the 1997 handover deal from British to Chinese rule, Hong Kong enjoys rights and liberties unseen on the mainland, including an independent judiciary and freedom of speech.
But many say those rights are being curtailed, citing the disappearance into mainland custody of dissident booksellers, the disqualification of prominent politicians and the jailing of pro-democracy protest leaders.
Public anger has been compounded by rising inequality, the high costs of living and the perception that the city's distinct language and culture are being threatened by ever closer integration with the Chinese mainland.The Chinese city of Shenzhen last Friday held a light show to urge the former British colony to stay loyal to Beijing.
The metropolis of 12 million people, which borders Hong Kong, had giant images of the Chinese national flag cast on skyscrapers on a waterfront in a show of might and warning to demonstrators.
The performance took place across the water from the New Territories, where weapon-wielding mobsters broke into a subway station and brutally beat protesters and passengers days earlier.
Footage of the light show was shot and uploaded to China's Twitter-like platform Weibo by a user known as Xin I Du Du '.
Thousands of Chinese web users have praised Shenzhen, which has close business and social links with Hong Kong, for teaching activists and 'pro-independence separatists' a patriotic lesson.
