They will next appear in court on April 16, where mitigation pleas will be heard before sentences are handed down. Taking part in an unlawful assembly or a riot in Hong Kong can result in a maximum sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment for serious offences.
Pro-democracy activist Lee Cheuk-yan waves to supporters as he arrives at the West Kowloon Courts for the verdict in a landmark unlawful assembly case, in Hong Kong on Thursday.(Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
Ahead of the trial, supporters and some of the defendants gathered outside the court, shouting, "Oppose political persecution," and, "Five demands, not one less," in reference to demands by democracy supporters that include amnesty for those arrested in the protests as well as universal suffrage in the semi-autonomous region.