District Judge David Dufton approved the prosecution’s request and consolidated the cases of activists Ventus Lau and Owen Chow, actor Gregory Wong, and former president of the University of Hong Kong student union Althea Suen along with 10 others.

A 44-day period has been reserved for their trial from May to July in 2023, while a pre-trial review will take place a month before that.

Lau, who is currently remanded in custody over an alleged national security violation in connection with the pro-democracy camp's primary elections last year, told the judge to revoke the bail he was previously granted in the rioting case.

Meanwhile, Chow, another defendant detained in relation to the Legco primaries, got his bail in the rioting prosecution extended, after his lawyer said he planned to apply for bail in the national security case at the High Court.

The pair, along with two other defendants are due to appear before the court in June after requesting more time to obtain legal advice.

Earlier on Friday, Dufton also set trial dates more than two years away for a case involving 28 people accused of rioting during a lunch hour anti-government protest in Central in November 2019.