HONG KONG (AP) — Nine of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy advocates have been sentenced to jail terms for organizing a march during the 2019 anti-government protests that triggered an overwhelming crackdown from Beijing. They were found guilty earlier this month of organizing and participating in a massive protest in August 2019, where an estimated 1.7 million people marched in opposition to a bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial. The protest was not authorized by the police. Their convictions and Friday’s sentencing are the latest blows to the city’s flagging democracy movement, amid an ongoing crackdown by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
