Several Hong Kong protesters appear in court over rioting charges

Several Hong Kong anti-government protesters appeared in court on Wednesday.

The protesters were charged with rioting and other offences over violent clashes two months ago near China’s main representative office.

The mostly young activists in hard hats and gas masks dismantled street signs and fences which they used to form makeshift barricades to slow police advances.

A week earlier, on July 21, they had daubed slogans on the walls of the Liaison Office and thrown paint bombs at it.

The case was adjourned until Nov. 19 after prosecutors said they needed more time to study 35 hours of video, including police, online and CCTV footage. The 44 defendants were to be released on bail, lawyers said.

Police clashed with thousands of protesters in the former British colony on July 28 as they sought to defend the Hong Kong Liaison Office, a symbol of Chinese rule, from the crowds. Officers fired tear gas, rubber bullets and sponge grenades.

The protesters have five demands - the scrapping of now-withdrawn legislation that would have allowed extraditions to China, retraction of the word “riot” to describe the rallies, the release of all detained demonstrators, an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leader.

The charges on Wednesday, apart from rioting, included one of possessing an offensive weapon in a public place and several of assaulting police. The defendants are yet to make their pleas.