The Occupy Central trio had no guilty intent and should not be convicted for “being naïve,” said the defense at the High Court in an appeal hearing on Tuesday.

Eric Cheung, representing legal scholar Benny Tai, said in court that the initial Occupy Central plan was carefully designed to minimize possible risks for the public, such as scheduling the campaign on a public holiday on Oct. 1. When the Umbrella Movement erupted in Admiralty in September 2014 instead, the situation was not in their control.

He therefore disagreed with the prosecution who claimed that the movement’s kick-off date Sept. 28 was simply a “modified version” of the original plan.

The freedom of speech of the city will be undermined if the trio are found guilty of incitement for giving political speeches, he added.

Cheung also argued that the group never had the intention to cause public disturbance. The court may find them too naive for believing the police force would not disperse the crowd shortly, but “being naive” should not constitute conviction.

Cheung stressed that their proposal of civil disobedience was merely “a conspiracy to inspire Hongkongers,” instead of a “conspiracy to commit public nuisance.”

Eight out of the nine defendants attended the hearing, except Reverend Chu Yiu-ming. In April 2019, a lower court slapped prison terms on the occupy leaders for their involvement in the 79-day pro-democracy protests in 2014.

Police have tightened security near the High Court in the early morning. Cordon lines were set up and officers stopped and searched citizens at Admiralty MTR station.

Two of the three co-founders of Occupy Central – Tai and sociologist Chan Kin-man – were convicted of conspiracy and incitement to commit public nuisance, while the 77-year-old pastor was found guilty of one charge of conspiracy to commit public nuisance.

The trio were sentenced to 16 months in jail, and Chu’s sentence was suspended for two years due to a health issue.

The appeal hearing is expected to last for three days.

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