Thousands rally in Hong Kong after pro-democracy 'Umbrella Movement' activists jailed

[caption id="attachment_3953227" align="alignnone" width="940"] After three young democracy activists were jailed in Hong Kong, thousands of supporters took to the streets on Sunday to protest their sentences. Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow — leaders of the 'Umbrella Movement' rallies from 2014, were sentenced to six to eight months in jail for their role in a protest that sparked months' long demonstrations calling for democratic reforms. AP[/caption][caption id="attachment_3953229" align="alignnone" width="940"] The three jailed protest leaders were found guilty last year of unlawful assembly following storming a fenced-off government forecourt known as 'Civic Square', as part of a protest calling for fully free leadership elections in September 2014. AP[/caption][caption id="attachment_3953231" align="alignnone" width="940"] People took on the summer heat to stream from the eastern district of Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeals in the heart of Hong Kong island, protesting the jail terms. They held signs including, "Give back hope to my children", "One prisoner of conscience is one too many", and "Not guilty against totalitarian rule", as they gathered in one of the biggest recent rallies the city has seen. AP[/caption][caption id="attachment_3953233" align="alignnone" width="940"] Rights groups and activists called the case against the trio "political persecution" and more evidence that an assertive Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city. The Beijing-backed Hong Kong government brought the case for harsher sentences against the three, saying previous non-custodial terms were too light and did not serve as a deterrent to activists undermining stability. AP[/caption][caption id="attachment_3953235" align="alignnone" width="940"] Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland after being handed back to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal, but there are growing fears Beijing is trampling the agreement. AP[/caption][caption id="attachment_3953241" align="alignnone" width="940"] Wong and former legislator Law, who was disqualified from Parliament last month following Beijing's intervention, had expressed their intention to run for office in future elections but will be prevented from standing for five years because their jail terms exceeded three months. Wong, 20, is currently held in a high-security prison for young male offenders. Law and Chow are at a maximum security holding centre. AP[/caption]