Hong Kong protests: opposition activist Agnes Chow denied bail by High Court judge
- Madam Justice Judianna Barnes suggests Chow’s appeal of 10-month prison sentence for role in 2019 siege of police headquarters has little chance of success
- The morning hearing was telecast on two floors of the courthouse in order to accommodate scores of supporters while maintaining social distancing
Madam Justice Judianna Barnes of the High Court, in throwing out Chow’s application for bail, said she was not convinced the appeal had a reasonable prospect of success.
Lawrence Lok Yin-kam SC, a member of Chow’s defence team, had argued her sentence was manifestly excessive and that she could end up serving a significant portion of it by the time her appeal was finally heard.
The counsel submitted that Chow, 24, was not particularly active during the assembly and had not incited others to commit violence.
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Hong Kong activists Joshua Wong and Ivan Lam jailed, Agnes Chow to spend 24th birthday in prison
He also noted that past convictions on similar charges had resulted in suspended sentences, fines and community service orders, as seen in the case of student leader Eason Chung Yiu-wa. The 26-year-old was given 200 hours after being found guilty of incitement over a protest that marked the beginning of 2014’s Occupy movement.
