Organizers of the June 4 candlelight vigil have been charged with inciting people to participate in an unlawful assembly to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Lee Cheuk-yan, who chairs the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, revealed on Facebook that the police had notified him of upcoming court summons related to last week’s memorial service in Victoria Park. Alliance Vice President Albert Ho and Secretary Richard Tsoi were also charged alongside Next Media founder Jimmy Lai, who attended the vigil.

Lee said that the latest charges were baseless, adding that he left the vigil after lighting the candle at the start of the ceremony.

Earlier this month, police announced that the annual June 4 vigil would be banned for the first time in 30 years, citing coronavirus-prevention measures as the reason. Observing the government’s restrictions on public gatherings, Lee and other alliance members held the memorial service in groups of eight. While organizers encouraged Hong Kongers to participate by lighting candles across the city or even by watching the event via livestream, thousands still defied the government ban to attend the peaceful vigil in Victoria Park.

Tsoi criticized the political motivations behind the police charges, adding that the alliance never urged people to attend the gathering at Victoria Park. He also said that he would not feel threatened by the charges and would neither shun responsibility for commemorating the Tiananmen Square protests.

It is not the first time that high-profile pro-democracy figures have been charged with organizing or participating in unlawful assemblies. In April, Lee and the others were among 15 democratic leaders arrested in relation to rallies that occurred last August and October.

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