Up to 10 years in prison

Hong Kong: Harsh sentences for democracy activists

The verdicts also caused emotional reactions outside the court.(Bild: AP)

A court in Hong Kong has sentenced 45 democracy activists to prison terms of up to ten years. This was announced by the judges in the Chinese Special Administrative Region. The trial against the "Hong Kong 47" group was the largest to date for alleged violations of the controversial security law. 

The group of opposition activists was indicted more than three years ago. The trial lasted from February 2023 to December of the same year.

Law professor sentenced to ten years in prison
The 47 include former parliamentarians, academics and activists. Among them are former student leader Joshua Wong, who received four years and eight months, and law lecturer Benny Tai, whom the court sentenced to ten years in prison. Wong and 30 other defendants had already pleaded guilty at the beginning. Of the remaining 16 defendants, the judges found 14 guilty at the end of May this year, while two were acquitted.

Law professor Benny Tai was sentenced to ten years in prison.(Bild: AFP)

Election charges
The "Hong Kong 47" were accused of organizing illegal primaries before the 2020 election for the Legislative Council, Hong Kong's parliament, which was later cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. In doing so, the defendants were guilty of endangering the state and violating the Security Act.

There were protests outside the court and the police arrested several people.(Bild: AFP/AFP or licensors)

(Bild: AFP/AFP )

(Bild: AP)

The case had caused quite a stir and was criticized internationally, sometimes harshly. China has always backed the Hong Kong judges' decision. A charge of conspiracy to subvert public order could have led to a life sentence in the worst case scenario.

According to media reports, several hundred people lined up outside the court on the day the verdict was announced, including diplomats from Germany, the EU and other countries. The police cordoned off the area around the building in the Kowloon district of the former British crown colony.