After long legal battle, Hong Kong's 47 democrats brace for sentencing

18/11/2024 12:33

        A Hong Kong court will this week sentence 45 democratic campaigners in a major national security trial, with potentially heavy jail terms poised to further damage the financial hub's once lively pro-democracy movement, critics say.
        
        In May, 14 of the 47 democrats were found guilty of the charge of conspiracy to commit subversion, and two were acquitted. Earlier, 31 had pleaded guilty, hoping for reduced sentences.
        
        The U.S. has described the trial and its guilty verdicts as "politically motivated", while demanding the defendants be released.
        
        Hong Kong authorities say the legal process has been impartial, while condemning critical comments from Western democracies as baseless and "malicious smearing".
        
        On Tuesday, three national security judges hand-picked by the government for this trial will conclude the legal saga that began with the democrats' arrests in January 2021. Jail terms are expected to range from several years for participants to possible life imprisonment for principal offenders.