Protesters who stormed the Executive Yuan during the Sunflower movement in 2014 were yesterday acquitted of inciting others to commit a crime, but some were sentenced for obstructing official business and damaging government property.
Following the occupation of the Legislative Yuan by protesters on March 18, 2014, in protest against a hasty review of the cross-strait service trade agreement, a number of protesters broke into the Executive Yuan compound on March 23 and were forcibly evicted by the police.
A total of 93 protesters were indicted on various charges, but the number of defendants was reduced to 21 after the Executive Yuan withdrew charges against some protesters.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The Taipei District Court acquitted 10 of the defendants, including Dennis Wei (魏揚), of inciting others to commit a crime and theft.
However, eight defendants were found guilty of obstructing official business and three others were found guilty of damaging public property.
Those found guilty of obstructing official business were sentenced to three to five months in prison, while those guilty of damaging public property were sentenced to four to five months in prison, with sentences commutable to a fine.
Unlike the Taipei District Court ruling on March 31 that acquitted Sunflower protesters occupying the Legislative Yuan compound of all charges and described their actions as “in line with the rights of civil disobedience,” yesterday’s ruling did not recognize such rights — although defendants had cited the right of civil disobedience in their defense.
In contrast to the March 31 ruling, the verdict said that breaking into Executive Yuan premises was “not the last relief” protesters could resort to in the existing legal framework, as they could have requested a constitutional interpretation to veto the passage of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
The defendants criticized the ruling, saying that all the defendants should be acquitted of all charges for the same reason the court acquitted their fellow protesters who stormed the Legislative Yuan.
Wei said protesters’ actions did not constitute the obstruction of official businesses, because they were part of an “impromptu demonstration of immediate urgency,” which, according to Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 718, is legal.
Meanwhile, Wei said the judiciary failed to address police violence during the protests.
“No one has been held accountable for the state violence. The defendants have had to appear in court on a frequent basis for the past three years, but none of the relevant government officials including [former premier] Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and [Zhongzheng First Police Precinct Chief] Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧) have been investigated,” Wei said.
“An injured protester died one year after [the police eviction] and we still do not know which officers used force,” he said.
Lawyer Yu Po-hsiang (尤伯祥), the director of the legal team supporting the defendants, said they regretted the ruling, as the court did not recognize the right of civil disobedience and the context in which protesters exercised that right.
“The March 23 incident was an integral part of the Sunflower movement. It was caused by former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) abuse of the Constitution and legal system. The two incidents should be treated equally from a legal point of view,” he said.
Defendant Hsieh Sheng-yu (謝昇佑), who was given a four-month prison sentence for obstructing official business, said he did not regret his actions and he would act again if the government’s actions were unjust.
The defendants and the legal team have yet to decide whether to appeal the ruling.
They also called on the judiciary not to press criminal charges against protesters unless absolutely necessary, as it would suppress freedom of speech.
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