HONG KONG (AP) — The mastermind behind a foiled bomb plot anti-government protests He was sentenced to nearly 24 years in prison in Hong Kong in 2019 in the city’s first case brought under the United Nations counterterrorism law.

Ng Chi-hung, who previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bomb objects prescribed under the anti-terrorism law and possession of weapons or ammunition with intent to endanger life, was sentenced to 23 years and 10 months in prison by a Hong Kong court. on Thursday.

He was one of seven convicted defendants to go on trial for their role in a plot to plant two bombs along a rally route and shoot police officers on December 8, 2019, at a time when accusations of police brutality against protesters were widespread.

The seven men are not well-known activists in the semi-autonomous Chinese city’s pro-democracy movement, but their cases attracted attention because of the invocation of the United Nations (Counter-Terrorism Measures) Regulations.

Hong Kong has enacted legislation to implement the UN Security Council resolution taken after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

According to local media reports, prosecutors said most of the defendants in the case were members of two groups, one led by Ng and the other called the “Dragon Slaying Brigade.” The prosecution said members of the brigade planned to lure police officers to an area where bombs would be detonated and snipers would target them.

The brigade’s leader, Wong Chun-keung, was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison. The other five defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from approximately six to 12 years.

Six more defendants, who pleaded not guilty, were arrested in August. acquitted by a panel of judges.

The 2019 protests were the most intense challenge to Hong Kong’s government since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

More than 10,000 people were arrested following the protests. social unrest, often violent It was sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill that would have allowed suspects in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland China.