Five people convicted of obstructing the police while trying to prevent the demolition of Taipei’s Huaguang Community (華光社區) reacted angrily to yesterday’s High Court ruling, which upheld their original guilty verdict.
The court found Lin Ching-hao (林靖豪), Kuo Kuang-chun (郭冠均), Chang Chih-lu (張志綸), Pan Cheng-ji (潘承佑) and Ku Cheng-hui (古振輝) guilty of obstructing police officers, charges they incurred during clashes with law enforcement officials on April 23, 2013, and upheld their sentences of 50 days in jail or a NT$50,000 fine.
In the incident, the five defendants, along with other protesters, were involved in an effort to prevent law enforcement officials from enforcing traffic and crowd controls near the Huaguang Community, which a court order had scheduled the demolition of the next day, to begin the first phase of construction for an urban renewal project.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
Protesters tore down barricades, incited the crowd to disobey an order to disperse, and engaged in scuffles with police officers, to try and prevent the demolition, investigators said.
In the first ruling by the Taipei District Court in April last year, the five defendants were found guilty and given 50-day jail terms, or fines of NT$50,000.
Yesterday’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
The five defendants held an overnight vigil in front of the High Court building beginning on Tuesday evening.
After learning of the verdict, Lin said the High Court was being used by the government to suppress dissent, and questioned Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers commitment to amendments made to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法).
Shouting slogans, the defendants set off firecrackers, causing a commotion among the small crowd and police officers in front of the High Court.
“It took three years for the legal proceedings to be completed in this case, and in the end, the court did not protect the public’s right to assemble and engage in protests. The decision favors the government and its agencies, and it violates the basic rights of citizens and infringes on the right to free speech,” Lin said.
Lin said he and the four others would decide later whether to pay the fines or serve the jail sentences.
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