The District Court on Saturday found eleven people guilty of rioting near the Polytechnic University in 2019.

The defendants were among 213 people arrested on the evening of November 18, 2019, when heated conflicts broke out between anti-extradition protesters and police officers in the vicinity of the university campus.

Deputy judge Veronica Heung said with officers firing more than 200 tear gas canisters and over 200 rubber bullets, as well as roadblocks around the area, the defendants would have left the dangerous scene if they were not taking part in the protest in Yau Ma Tei.

The judge said the defendants chose not to leave the scene in a bid to encourage others to join the riot and breach the peace. She said some of them live in places far from the protest site, and there was no reason for them to stay there when all the shops were closed.

The judge also convicted some defendants of possessing offensive weapons, or instruments fit for unlawful purposes, including hammers and laser devices.

Two other defendants in the same case had earlier pleaded guilty to the riot charge. One of them, Kok Tsz-lun, was among the 12 people who tried to flee to Taiwan by speedboat and were intercepted by mainland coastguard in 2020.

Sentencing for all the defendants has been adjourned to December 31.