Protests in Hong Kong over jailing of pro-democracy leaders

Thousands of people took to the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday to protest against the jailing of three young democracy activists for their involvement in the 2014 'Umbrella Movement.'

On Thursday, a Hong Kong court sentenced Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, organizers of the protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2014 to jail terms ranging from six to eight months.

Questioning the independence of the Chinese-ruled city's judiciary, thousands of people marched in sweltering temperatures to the Court of Final Appeal, carrying placards.

On Sunday, about 22,000 demonstrators walked from the district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal, where the three activists are expected to lodge an appeal against their sentences. While the protest organisers did not provide their own count, activist Agnes Chow told CNN it was the biggest protest since the 2014 Occupy movement.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Hong Kong government said that the decision to appeal the original sentences was "in accordance with Hong Kong's effective legal system" and had "absolutely no political consideration involved."

Wong said on Twitter that the government "can lock up our bodies, but not our minds!"

Chow, who is a standing committee member of Demosisto, the political party founded by Wong in the wake of the Occupy movement, said that as "a person advocating civil disobedience" she is "not afraid to go to jail."

Since the Umbrella Movement of 2014, the Hong Kong government has brought 39 legal cases against 26 pro-democracy leaders, successfully applied for High Court judicial reviews which banned from office six elected pro-democracy Legislative Council .It has also prosecuted dozens of other pro-democracy activists.

They were convicted of unlawful assembly after they stormed government property in June 2014, leading to the 79-day sit-in of major roads in the heart of the city's financial district.

Joshua Wong, Secretary General of Demosisto, who has faced three prosecutions, received an unlawful assembly conviction for occupying Civic Square on 26 September 2014, for which he was just sentenced to seven months in prison.

Nathan Law, chair of Demosisto, has faced two criminal prosecutions and a judicial review. The prosecutions are for the same cases as Joshua's. He was acquitted of obstructing police at the White Paper protest and sentenced to eight months in prison for inciting unlawful assembly in relation to the Civic Square occupation.