HK activist loses appeal against his prison term

Bloomberg

A Hong Kong court rejected an appeal by an influential activist who was trying to reduce his prison sentence for rioting related to a violent 2016 protest.
Edward Leung, 28, a self-described Hong Kong “localist” whose more radical approach to politics won him supporters among the city’s protesters, had been sentenced to six years in prison in 2018 for helping to lead the protest
in Kowloon’s Mong Kok
neighbourhood. His efforts to reduce his sentence were rejected by the Hong Kong Court of Appeal on Wednesday.
The decision comes as Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters begin to renew their demonstrations after the global Covid-19 pandemic and social-distancing restrictions mostly suppressed the violent unrest that had rocked the city last year.
The rejection of Leung’s appeal could prompt further protests.
Leung’s slogan — “Reclaim Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Time!” — was widely adopted by participants in protests that gripped the Asian financial hub for much of last year.