Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong was found guilty Thursday of participating in a protest that led to the city's mass pro-democracy rallies, in a case he has slammed as political persecution.

Wong was convicted for taking part in an unlawful assembly after he and other students climbed into a Hong Kong government complex forecourt known as Civic Square on September 26, 2014.

That protest triggered wider rallies that exploded two days later when police fired tear gas to disperse crowds.