Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow jailed

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow jailed

Joshua Wong speaking before the ruling

The Court of Appeal on Thursday ordered the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, as it increased their punishments over the storming of Civic Square just prior to the start of the 2014 Occupy protests.



Wong was given a six-month prison term, Law eight months and Chow seven months behind bars. The three looked calm when they heard the new sentences.



Wong shouted "Hongkongers, do not give up" before he was escorted away.



In a written ruling, the vice-president of the Court of Appeal, Wally Yeung, issued a scathing criticism of what he called a "sick trend" in recent years.



He said "some knowledgeable people" had encouraged others to commit civil disobedience. The judge said these people not only refuse to admit it is wrong to break the law, but see this as an honour or something they can be proud of.



The judge said "such arrogant and self-righteous thinking had unfortunately affected some young people, and led them to damage public order and peace during protests".



He said this case is a manifestation of such a "sick trend" - and a deterrent sentence was necessary. He further warned that if the new sentences are not stiff enough to deter similar offences in future, the courts may have to hand down even heavier punishments to uphold the rule of law.



The Secretary for Justice brought the appeal after the former student leaders originally escaped jail following their convictions a year ago this week.



Eastern Magistracy found Wong and Chow guilty of illegal assembly and recently-disqualified legislator Law of inciting others to take part in an illegal assembly.



Wong and Law, now leaders of the Demosisto party, were originally given community service orders by the magistrate and Chow, a former secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, received a suspended three-week prison term.



Ahead of Thursday's ruling, a tearful crowd of about 100 gathered in the lobby of the court building, chanting support for the leaders of the Occupy movement, while pro-Beijing groups demonstrated outside.



Wong, 20, told the crowd he had no regrets about taking part in Occupy. "I still believe that time is on our side and one day Hong Kong will be a place where we can determine our own future."



Minutes before he went into court, Wong tweeted "stay strong".



Law, 24, who is the youngest person ever to be elected as a legislative councillor in Hong Kong, joined the crowd in the lobby, shaking hands with supporters. His father was in the courtroom to hear the appeal ruling.



Chow's parents were also in court, and he handed them his wallet and mobile before the ruling. The 26-year-old's mother was seen weeping.



As the court announced the increased punishments, the parents of the three activists all appeared calm, although Chow's mother later broke down in tears. The crowd of supporters outside the court were initially stunned into silence before they resumed their earlier chants of support for the trio.



Wong tweeted "They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers." A later tweet read "see you soon".



Being longer than three months, the prison terms will dash any hopes Wong or Law may have had of running for Legco within the next five years.



In a statement, the Department of Justice denied the case was politically motivated, or represented political persecution.