HONG KONG: After a national security trial that has received criticism from Western nations, Hong Kong’s High Court sentenced 45 “pro-democracy activists” to up to 10 years in prison on Tuesday.
In 2021, 47 activists were detained and accused with conspiring to conduct subversion under the security statute, which carries a maximum jail term of life.
The 2020 law’s maximum sentence to date was 10 years in prison for Benny Tai, a former legal professor named in the ruling as a “mastermind” of the activists’ schemes.
Organizing an unauthorized “primary election” in 2020 to choose the top contenders for a legislative election was the subject of the charges. Prosecutors charged the activists with planning to disrupt the administration by doing possibly disruptive acts if elected.
The trial has drawn criticism from certain Western nations. The US has called it “politically motivated” and stated that the Democrats should be freed because they had been “legally and peacefully participating in political activities.”
The governments of China and Hong Kong claim that the activists were treated in compliance with local laws and that the national security measures were required to restore order following large-scale protests in 2019.
