Hong Kong actor Gregory Wong and 11 other people have been jailed for their role in the storming of the city’s legislature during protests in 2019.
Wong received a sentence of just over six years, one of the lengthier punishments issued by the district court on Saturday.
Activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow also received prison sentences related to their involvement in the pro-democracy protest.
Additionally, two journalists were fined for unlawfully entering the Legislative Council chamber during the same period.
The majority of the defendants were convicted of participating in a riot.
The incident occurred in July 2019 and was considered a significant moment in the pro-democracy demonstrations sparked by a controversial extradition law to mainland China.
Hundreds of protesters breached the building, leaving messages on the walls and bringing supplies for those occupying the premises.
Extensive damage was done to the building, with portraits of political leaders torn from the walls and furniture smashed.
Judge Li Chi-ho on Saturday said that, as well as physical damage, the storming had caused “long-lasting” social effects.
“Aside from the actual damage to the building, it had a symbolic meaning… [which was] challenging the Hong Kong government and even weakening its governance,” Mr Li said, according to the AFP news agency.
The demonstrations resulted in the implementation of a stringent security law, which facilitated the prosecution of protesters and diminished the city’s autonomy.
It is estimated that over 100 individuals have been apprehended under the legislation imposed by Beijing in 2020.
Hong Kong, previously a British colony, was returned to Chinese control in 1997 with the commitment to uphold the “one country, two systems” principle. Critics contend that the Chinese Communist Party has breached the agreement by encroaching on the city’s high degree of autonomy and undermining its economic and social structures.