The Hong Kong court convicted 14 out of 16 democracy activists for committing subversion in the biggest national security case on Thursday, May 30.
According to BBC, they were among the 47 who were charged in 2021 for trying to ‘overthrow’ the government by organizing an unofficial election. Among all 47, 31 pleaded guilty, while the rest of the 16 of them entered not guilty pleas.
The convicted activists will now face life in prison, while the sentencing is expected at a later date.
The two defendants who were acquitted are lawyer and former district councillor Laurence Lau and social worker and fellow former district councillor Lee Yue-shun. They are the first people to be cleared of national security law charges since the legislation came into force.
The arrest of 47 was marked as the biggest crackdown under the National Security Law (NSL) imposed by China in 2020, which said the law is essential for the stability of Hong Kong.
Maya Wang, Human Rights Watch’s acting China director, said about the verdict, “Democracy is not a crime, regardless of what the Chinese government and its handpicked Hong Kong court may say.”
Wang further added, “Beijing promised Hong Kong people universal suffrage. It is Beijing that needs to be held accountable for repeatedly reneging on these promises and for blatantly erasing the basic human rights guaranteed in Hong Kong laws and functional constitution.”
