Hong Kong jails 45 democracy activists in landmark national security trial

19/11/2024 12:00

        Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to jail terms of up to 10 years in a landmark national security trial that has damaged the city's once feisty democracy movement and drawn international condemnation.
        
        A total of 47 pro-democracy activists were arrested and charged in 2021 with conspiracy to commit subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law and had faced sentences of up to life in prison.
        
        Benny Tai, a former legal scholar identified as an "organiser" of the activists, was sentenced to 10 years in jail, the longest sentence so far under the 2020 national security law.
        
        Some Western governments have criticised the trial, with the U.S. describing it as "politically motivated" and saying the democrats should be released as they had been "peacefully participating in political activities" that were legal.
        
        The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the national security laws were necessary to restore order after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, and the democrats have been treated in accordance with local laws.