On July 21, 2016, Hong Kong’s judicial system ruled that Nathan Law, a 23-year-old Umbrella Movement leader, was found guilty of inciting people to partake in unlawful assembly charges. The charges stem from 2014 protests where tens of thousands demonstrators occupied a public business square and several key intersections in opposition of proposed restrictive electoral system reforms. To protect themselves against police water cannons and pepper spray, people used umbrellas from which the movement got its name.

Along with Mr. Law, 19-year-old Joshua Wong and 25-year-old Alex Chow were found guilty on similar charges; the three activists may face up to two years in jail at their sentencing hearing on August 15. The World Movement for Democracy joins the international community in urging the government of Hong Kong to end its reprisals against 2014 protesters.

The World Movement for Democracy asked the court to use their discretion to levy a non-custodial sentence for the convicted leaders. Join us in expressing solidarity with the Umbrella Movement activists by tweeting the following message: “We support the Umbrella Movement activists & #StandForHK! #HongKong”