A top Hong Kong opposition leader imprisoned on public disorder charges has been released on bail as the territory's government attempts to quell a protest movement that has paralyzed parts of the island, including its international airport, and led to hundreds of arrests.
Benny Taiwan was sentenced to 16 months as one of nine leaders of a 2014 drive for universal suffrage known as the Umbrella Movement. He was allowed to return home Thursday on $12,755 cash bail but barred from leaving Hong Kong.
The 2014 movement fizzled out, its demands unmet and leaders arrested. It laid the groundwork for the new protest movement that began in June with mass opposition to extradition legislation but has since encompassed more sweeping democratic demands.