Hong Kong’s High Court has sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to a decade in prison, after the city’s largest national security trial.
The activists were arrested in 2021 under a national security law passed by Beijing, and were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion.
“Today’s harsh sentences against dozens of prominent democracy activists reflect just how fast Hong Kong’s civil liberties and judicial independence have nosedived in the past four years since the Chinese government imposed the draconian National Security Law,” said Human Rights Watch’s Associate China Director Maya Wang.
The group was arrested for participating in an unofficial primary election in July 2020, organised by legal scholar Benny Tai. They have been detained since 2021.
Sentences range from just over four years to 10 years. While 47 activists were originally arrested, two were previously acquitted.
"I am absolutely not optimistic about the sentence, but I see hope, because even though the day of freedom is still far away, we finally see the end,” said Owen Chow, an activist sentenced to nearly eight years in prison.
The group includes foreign citizens, such as Australian Gordon Ng.
"The Australian Government is gravely concerned by the sentence handed down in Hong Kong for Australian citizen Mr Gordon Ng and other members of the NSL47,” said Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.
“We call for China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society, consistent with the Human Rights Committee and Special Procedure recommendations, including the repeal of the National Security Law in Hong Kong,” Wong said.