Kwok called the alleged incitement a serious crime, but nonetheless took into account their “age and immaturity” by sentencing them to a training center, or youth detention center, rather than jail.
The length of stay, capped at three years, is left to the discretion of the correctional authorities.
“Even if a single person is instigated by them, Hong Kong’s social stability and residents’ safety may be seriously endangered,” Kwok added.
“There is no evidence to directly prove that anyone was instigated by the defendants to overthrow state power, but that real risk exists.”
Four of the five have already been in pretrial detention for over a year, and only one has been released on bail.
Prosecutors Anthony Chau and Stella Lo earlier told the court that the group’s pamphlets mentioned the French and Ukrainian revolutions as examples of successful armed rebellions, and cited Mao Zedong on a revolution as “a violent act of a class overthrowing a other”.