Edward Leung, one of the leaders of a pro-independence movement, has been jailed for 6 years for rioting and assaulting a police officer.

A former rising star in Hong Kong's radical youth opposition was sentenced to 6 years in jail on Monday for rioting and assaulting the police, one of the city's harshest sentences against a democracy activist in recent years.

Edward Leung, 26, one of the leaders of a movement advocating Hong Kong's independence from China, had earlier been found guilty of rioting in a 2016 overnight protest that turned violent. He had pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer.

About 130 people, mostly police, were injured when masked protesters tossed bricks and set trash cans alight to vent their anger against what they saw as mainland Chinese encroachment on the city's autonomy and freedoms.

It wasn't immediately clear if Leung would appeal against the sentence.