Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and six other pro-democracy figures had a case to answer for their roles in a protest march in 2019 that the police had banned, a Hong Kong judge said on Wednesday.

The seven defendants, including Lai and Democratic Party founding chairperson Martin Lee, will stand trial for allegedly organizing and participating in the unauthorized assembly. Two others earlier pleaded guilty to their respective charge.

Prosecutors had established a prima facie case, District Court judge Amanda Jane Woodcock said, meaning that their evidence was valid and sufficient enough to argue that the defendants had committed the crime. The defense will decide on Thursday whether to call witnesses.

The group of nine is accused of organizing and taking part in the illegal rally on Aug. 18, 2019. It is one of the most high-profile prosecution cases targeting prominent democracy advocates since an anti-government movement engulfed Hong Kong for months from June.

Apart from Lai and Lee, the other defendants include Labor Party vice chairperson Lee Cheuk-yan, human rights lawyer Albert Ho, barrister Margaret Ng, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The two who have pleaded guilty are Au Nok-hin and Leung Yiu-chung. Seven of the nine are former lawmakers of Hong Kong.

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