The verdict comes several years after a pro-democracy movement sparked major protests in the city against a Beijing-imposed national security law. Only two of the accused were acquitted.
Hong Kong’s High Court on Thursday found 14 activists guilty of “subversion” in the city’s biggest trial against pro-democracy campaigners since China imposed a national security law (NSL).
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In 2021, 47 protesters and activists, known as the Hong Kong 47, were charged under the national security law with “conspiracy to commit subversion.”
While 16 of them maintained their innocence throughout the trial, the remaining 31 pleaded guilty, hoping for more lenient sentences.
Those found guilty could face from three years to life in jail. The sentencing is expected later this year.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Hong Kong’s High Court on Thursday found 14 activists guilty of “subversion” in the city’s biggest trial against pro-democracy campaigners since China imposed a national security law (NSL).
The trial was held without a jury and the judges were chosen from a pool of jurists handpicked by Hong Kong’s leader John Lee.
Australia voiced “strong objections” and deep concern over the conviction, vowing to raise the fate of a condemned Australian at the “highest levels”.
The British Consulate-General told AFP the UK was concerned “over the erosion of meaningful political opposition in Hong Kong.”
Democrats argued the NSL would infringe on freedoms guaranteed when Hong Kong was handed back to China by the British in 1997.
The democrats maintain it was an unofficial attempt to select the strongest candidates for a citywide election in a bid to win a historic majority in Hong Kong’s legislature.
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