Prominent activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were remanded in custody Monday after a Hong Kong court convicted them of inciting or participating in an unauthorized protest around the police headquarters last year.
Wong, 24, and Lam, 26, pleaded guilty to their charges Monday, while Chow, 23, made a guilty plea again the same day as asked by the court even though she had already been convicted earlier.
A judge at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts did not allow their bail to be extended. Sentencing is set for Dec. 2.
The trio had been released on bail following their arrests over the case between August and September last year. The judge's decision to take them into custody comes as the territory's authorities are seen to be increasingly willing to stifle dissent.
"It would not be surprising if I am sent to immediate detention today," Wong told reporters ahead of his court appearance. "We will continue to fight for freedom, and now is not the time for us (to) kowtow to Beijing and to surrender."
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Chow expressed apprehension about being remanded in custody. "I may face prison for the first time in my life," she said, standing with Wong and Lam in front of reporters.
"I have a lot of anxiety regarding the future. But I hope we will also not forget our brothers and friends who may be facing a lot tougher situation than ours."
Wong pleaded guilty to inciting and organizing the unauthorized assembly in which mostly young protesters besieged the police headquarters on June 21, 2019. Lam pleaded guilty to inciting the protest.
The pair had denied the charges against them. But they reversed course after discussions with their defense lawyers.
Chow had already admitted to inciting and taking part in the protest, after reportedly deciding that, with no previous criminal record, she would face a relatively light punishment such as community service.
She was convicted of the charges in August.
The protest occurred amid an intensifying anti-government movement that was spurred by a surge of opposition to the Hong Kong government's plan to allow suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.
