HONG KONG—A Hong Kong court found seven prominent pro-democracy figures guilty on Thursday of “unauthorized assembly,” including barrister Martin Lee and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, the latest blow to the city’s beleaguered democracy movement. The group were accused of taking part in an approved assembly on Aug. 18, 2019, opposing the pro-Beijing government’s extradition bill that later became “unauthorized” when it turned into a mass protest. Millions of Hongkongers took to the streets of the financial hub demanding Beijing stay out of local politics. Lee, often referred to as Hong Kong’s “father of democracy,” helped launch the city’s largest opposition Democratic Party in the 1990s. The 82-year-old could be jailed for 12-18 months, according to some legal experts. Lee, Lai, and five other defendants, including prominent barrister Margaret Ng and veteran lawmakers Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung-kwok-hung, Albert Ho, Cyd Ho, all pleaded not guilty. Previously, two other defendants—former pro-democracy lawmakers Au Nok-hin and …
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