A court in Hong Kong has upheld the convictions and sentences of pro-democracy activists in the biggest case brought under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
The appeals were part of the so-called “Hong Kong 47” case, in which many leading pro-democracy activists and politicians were arrested in early 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion.
Hong Kong‘s government said the court’s decision showed that anyone endangering national security would be punished in accordance with the law.
The case centred on an unofficial primary election organised by pro-democracy campaigners in mid-2020 to select the strongest candidates for a council election.
The prosecution alleged they were conspiring to win a majority in order to paralyse the government by blocking the city’s annual budget, in a bid to force Hong Kong’s leader to resign.
The mass prosecution of 47 activists crushed much of the city’s once-thriving pro-democracy movement, which saw massive anti-government protests in 2019.
Forty-five of the defendants were sentenced to between four and 10 years in 2024, drawing criticism from foreign governments and rights groups.
Eleven activists who appealed their convictions lost their bids.
They included former politicians Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan and Helena Wong.
All appeals over their sentences, brought by 10 of them and another activist, were also dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Lawrence Lau, a pro-democracy former district councillor, was one of two activists acquitted in the case.
Judges upheld his acquittal following an appeal from the prosecution.
After hearing the result, the defendants appeared calm and waved to their families and supporters.
Some people had waited outside since Saturday to secure a seat in the courtroom.
After the ruling, Chan Po-ying, the wife of activist Leung Kwok-hung, said: “What crimes have they committed?”
So far, 18 of the 45 convicted democrats have been released after serving their jail terms, including former district councillors Jimmy Sham and Lester Shum.
Officials in Hong Kong and Beijing insist that they received a fair trial, and say the national security law in 2020 helped restore order following the mass pro-democracy protests.
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But a spokesperson for Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas said the court “missed a critical opportunity to correct this mass injustice”, adding that “peaceful opposition to a government is not a crime”.
The Australian government’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, also expressed concern that its citizen, Gordon Ng, had lost the appeal over his conviction.
