HONG KONG — A Hong Kong activist was sentenced to six years in prison on Monday for his role in a 2016 clash between protesters and the police over unlicensed street vendors selling traditional snacks during the Lunar New Year.

The activist, Edward Leung, faced up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted last month of one count of rioting. He was found not guilty of a separate charge of inciting a riot, which prosecutors have said they will appeal.

The judge in the trial, Anthea Pang, said that political causes were no justification for violence, and that the sentence would take into account only the degree of violence and the extent to which public peace had been disrupted, the Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK reported.

Another defendant, Lo Kin-man, was sentenced to seven years, and a third activist, Wong Ka-kui, pleaded guilty to rioting and was sentenced to three and a half years.