HONG KONG - Sixteen Falun Gong followers were convicted Thursday of causing an obstruction during a protest outside the Chinese government's liaison office here — in a case rights activists called a threat to Hong Kong's freedoms.
It was the first time Hong Kong had brought criminal charges against members of Falun Gong, which is outlawed as an "evil cult" in mainland China but remains legal in this former British colony, which was returned to China in 1997.
Magistrate Symon Wong convicted the defendants, including four Swiss and one New Zealand citizen, of all counts. He then imposed fines ranging from 1,300 Hong Kong dollars (U.S. dlrs 167) to 3,800 Hong Kong dollars (U.S. dlrs 487) but did not jail anybody.
Several Falun Gong followers stood to protest their innocence as Wong left the courtroom, but he ignored them.
"The verdict once more shows the pressure from mainland China," said one of the Swiss defendants, Erich Bachmann. "The people are now being persecuted in Hong Kong."
All defendants were found guilty of causing a public obstruction and acting in a way that could cause a public obstruction.
Nine of them, including eight Hong Kong Chinese and New Zealand citizen Jenny Lee, were convicted of the more serious charge of obstructing the police who broke up the demonstration on March 14. Three of the Hong Kong people were convicted of assaulting a police officer.
The defendants showed little emotion as Wong read out the verdicts in the Western Magistracy, ending a trial that began in June.
Rights activists and opposition lawmakers accused Hong Kong of appeasing Beijing by bringing the prosecution. Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung promised an appeal.
Falun Gong frequently protests in Hong Kong against the mainland's suppression that the group claims has left hundreds of followers dead, creating an uneasy situation for Hong Kong.
Free speech rights were guaranteed for 50 years when Hong Kong was returned from Britain to China, but pro-Beijing figures here have demanded action against Falun Gong.
One staunch Beijing ally praised the verdicts and said Hong Kong's civil liberties were not in jeopardy.
"If the Falun Gong people disturb the central government's office here and if the court finds them guilty, we all have to respect the verdicts," said Ma Lik, a local deputy to the Chinese National People's Congress and secretary-general of Hong Kong's biggest pro-Beijing political party.
"Everyone, when they enjoy the freedom of speech, they must also respect other people's interests," Ma said by telephone.
The magistrate said the case had nothing to do Falun Gong. He said the defendants showed no regard for the public when they demonstrated and he noted police did not try to stop the protest but merely ordered the practitioners to move several steps away from the front of the Chinese office.
Falun Gong contends its followers did not block the sidewalk and defense attorneys argued police who later sealed off the area were the only ones causing any obstruction.
Hong Kong dismissed accusations it sought to stifle Falun Gong, saying anybody here can protest within the law.
The fines Wong imposed were less than the maximum, which was 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (U.S. dlrs 640) on some counts. The most serious count, obstructing police, could have carried a jail term of up to two years.
The Swiss defendants are Bachmann, from Kreuzlingen; Roland Isenschmid and Claudia Simone Schlegel-Grunenfelder, from Bern; and Lam Duy Quoc, from Zollikofen.
A Swiss consular official, Annegret Zimmermann, called the verdicts surprising.
"The Swiss government puts a lot of importance on the freedom of expression," Zimmermann said outside the court.