‘Hong Kong 47’ trial: first verdicts due after national security crackdown

‘Hong Kong 47’ trial: first verdicts due after national security crackdownSixteen of the 47 pro-democracy campaigners have denied charges of subversion for organising pre-election primaries in landmark caseJudges in Hong Kong are set to start delivering verdicts on Thursday in the territory’s largest national security prosecution yet, with 16 of the “Hong Kong 47” pro-democracy campaigners awaiting their fate in a landmark case.

The 16 have pleaded not guilty to charges of subversion for organising pre-election primaries, and are among the cohort who were detained in mass dawn raids by national security police in January 2021.

Charges of “conspiracy to subvert state power” were eventually laid against them, under the national security law which had been introduced seven months earlier.

The remaining 31 who pleaded guilty are still awaiting the outcomes of their cases. The judges had decided to complete the trial of the others before moving on to sentencing.

The 10-month trial finished in December, more than 1,000 days after the cohort had first been arrested. Beginning Thursday, judges are expected to spend at least two days delivering their verdicts against the 16 defendants, including one organiser of the primaries and 15 candidates.

Most of the 47 had been denied bail, including Jimmy Sham, who was labelled a “determined and resolute young man” for continuing to insist on the five demands of the pro-democracy protesters, and 65-year-old former legislator Claudia Mo, whose WhatsApp messages with western journalists in the preceding years had been cited as evidence she was a national security risk.

The prosecution of the Hong Kong 47 has been extensively criticised by foreign governments, human rights groups and the defendants’ lawyers. The arrests themselves were criticised as politically motivated. Others accused Hong Kong of denying procedural fairness with a judge-only trial, and hearing dates that stretched out over the course of months with repeated delays.

The court system — already under strain after the arrest of thousands during the 2019 protests — appeared to struggle with such a large group of accused.The pre-election primaries were held on 11 and 12 July 2020, organised by legal scholar and activist Benny Tai. Tai was also an organiser of the 2014 “umbrella movement” protests, for which he served four months of a 16-month prison sentence.

Days prior, Hong Kong minister Erick Tsang warned in an interview that the primaries could violate the national security law (NSL), which had been active for a bit more than a week.

The informal primaries went ahead, as they had done in previous years for both sides of politics, and more than 600,000 residents took part in what many observers characterised as a protest vote against the Hong Kong government. More than six months later, the organisers, candidates, and workers involved were arrested, with most later released. A senior police official told media the plans of the organisers amounted to subversion.

The Hong Kong government crackdown has left the city with essentially no active political opposition. Scores have been arrested or jailed, others scared into silence. Many have fled overseas, including some who were facing charges. The Hong Kong government has issued large bounties for several “fugitives”, leading several countries hosting exiled Hongkongers to tear up their bilateral extradition agreements.

Michael Mo, a former district councillor and academic now based overseas, said on X on the eve of the hearing that organising an unofficial primary has never been, and should never be, considered subversion. “For people like us, who are living in exile, we should make those who stifled the city’s freedom pay their price.”

In March, the government introduced another national security law, known as Article 23. The law does not supersede the existing NSL, but fulfils a long-held constitutional obligation for the territory to enact its own legislation.

This week saw the first arrests under the new law, of six people accused of publishing messages with seditious intent ahead of “an upcoming sensitive date”, according to police.

‘Hong Kong 47’ trial: first verdicts due after national security crackdown

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