Two veteran barristers are among the pro-democracy campaigners facing prison after their conviction today for unlawful assembly. Martin Lee and Margaret Ng were among seven prominent figures accused of organising and participating in an illegal march in 2019. 

The seven, who include media tycoon Jimmy Lai, had pleaded not guilty, saying that the 'march' was rather an attempt to relieve overcrowding at an approved assembly. In an 89-page judgment, District Court judge Amanda Woodcock found that the seven had displayed an unequivocal intention to stage an illegal event, according to the South China Morning Post. 

Margaret Ng

Margaret Ng

Source: Michael Cross

Lee and Ng were released on bail pending a sentencing hearing on 16 April. Two other defendants, who had been charged under the territory's new National Security Law, were remanded in custody. 

Lee, 82, and Ng, 73, are recipients of the International Bar Association's award for outstanding contribution by a legal practitioner to human rights, presented in Seoul in 2019.