Joshua Wong, 2 other Hong Kong dissidents jailed for protests

Pro-democracy activists Ivan Lam and Joshua Wong walk to a prison van to head to court on Wednesday, after pleading guilty to charges of organising and inciting an unauthorised assembly near the police headquarters during last year’s anti-government protests. (Photo: Reuters)

HONG KONG: Leading dissident Joshua Wong was jailed alongside two other young activists on Wednesday for taking part in last year’s huge democracy protests as the crackdown on Beijing’s critics gathers pace.

Wong, 24, was prosecuted alongside fellow activists Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow over a rally last summer outside the police headquarters.

“The days ahead will be tough but we will hang in there,” Wong shouted as he was led away.

The three — some of the city’s most visible critics of Beijing’s rule — pleaded guilty to various charges including inciting an unlawful assembly.

“The defendants called on protesters to besiege the headquarters and chanted slogans that undermine the police force,” Magistrate Wong Sze-lai said as she sentenced Wong to 13.5 months, Chow to 10 months and Lam to seven months in jail.

“Immediate imprisonment is the only appropriate option,” she added.

Chow, 23, burst into tears when the sentence was read out.