Thousands of pro-democracy supporters protest in Hong Kong

Thousands of pro-democracy supporters took to the streets in Chinese-controlled Hong Kong today to protest against what they say is the Beijing-backed government's use of the courts to pursue its opponents. 

Demonstrators marched through the semi autonomous Chinese region's streets on the same day as a national holiday marking the founding of the People's Republic of China.They carried banners calling for the rejection of authoritarian rule and demanded the city's Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen step down. 

The protesters said, his request for the courts



to review sentences for three pro-democracy activists, which resulted in them being sent to prison, eroded the city's rule of law.

Many protesters heeded organisers' calls for them to wear black T-shirts in a show of support for the three activists, including young protest leader Joshua Wong. 

The three originally received community service or suspended sentences for their role in an illegal rally that sparked massive 2014 protests, but under the new stiffer sentences handed out this summer, they got six to eight months in jail.