HONG KONG — A court here sentenced seven men to prison Thursday for a violent mob attack on pro-democracy protesters in 2019, an incident that marked a turning point in Hong Kong’s months-long revolt against China’s tightening grip and fueled public distrust in the police force.

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       The defendants, aged between 40 and 61, were ordered to serve between 3？ and seven years after being found guilty of rioting and wounding for their involvement in the attack in Yuen Long, a working-class district of Hong Kong near the border with mainland China.

       The incident unfolded on July 21, 2019, as tensions soared in the city amid massive protests against a government proposal to allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland. That night, more than 100 men in white shirts — armed with wooden sticks and rattan clubs, some waving Chinese flags — chased protesters and commuters into a subway station in Yuen Long and began beating them. Dozens were injured, including a pregnant woman and a journalist who covered the demonstrations.

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       The attack marked a level of violence against pro-democracy protesters that was unprecedented at the time in Hong Kong. Despite hundreds of emergency calls, the assault continued for more than 30 minutes until police arrived. When officers finally reached the scene, they made no arrests that night.

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       Judge Eddie Yip said the attacks were “indiscriminate” and some of the defendants had “lost their minds.” He described how passengers became trapped inside the subway cars and had to shield themselves with umbrellas as the white-shirted men threatened them with sticks and threw objects.

       The sentence led to an uproar in court from family members of the defendants, who called the ruling an “injustice.”

       Wen Wei Po, a Chinese state media outlet, cited pro-establishment lawmaker Junius Ho as saying that the sentence was “too harsh” and that the perpetrators had been protecting their families.

       The police faced criticism for the length of time it took them to respond to the Yuen Long incident, which became a rallying cry for protesters calling for an independent inquiry into the police crackdown on demonstrators over the subsequent months. A survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong published last year showed respondents’ average degree of trust toward the police plummeted following the incident.

       Tens of thousands of Hong Kong protesters marched from Victoria Park to Wan Chai July 21, calling for democratic reforms and a probe of alleged police violence. (Reuters)

       Hong Kong’s police have sought to convince the public they remain impartial. They said their response to the attack was slow because they called for backup after finding the situation was beyond the control of one patrol vehicle. Police later described the attack as “a fight between two evenly matched sides.”

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       The Hong Kong government officially withdrew the extradition bill in October 2019. Later, 63 people were arrested in connection with the Yuen Long attack. Forty-eight of them were the white-clad men, according to local reports, but only eight were charged. One was acquitted, and the Department of Justice filed an appeal. Fifteen other individuals were arrested, and seven of them, including former pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, were subsequently charged with rioting. They will face trial in 2023.

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