A Hong Kong court has sentenced a leading pro-democracy advocate to 10 years in prison and handed dozens of other activists years-long jail terms in the Chinese territory\u2019s largest national security case. Benny Tai, a 60-year-old legal scholar who played a prominent role in Hong Kong\u2019s pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019, was handed the lengthy sentence on Tuesday after prosecutors cast him as the \u201corganiser\u201d of a conspiracy by activists and politicians dating back to July 2020. Tai and 44 others either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of offences related to organising an unofficial primary election to choose pro-democracy candidates for the city\u2019s legislature. The activists sought to elect lawmakers who would vote down the city\u2019s budget to force the dissolution of the legislature and then the ouster of the city\u2019s leader \u2013 something that is allowed for under Hong Kong\u2019s Basic Law. Prosecutors alleged that the group plotted to \u201coverthrow\u201d the government. After Tai, the lengthiest sentence was handed down to Owen Chow, 27, who received seven years and nine months for running as a candidate in the election. Former journalist Gwyneth Ho, 34, received seven years. Both pleaded not guilty during the trial. Australian citizen Gordon Ng, who urged Hong Kongers to vote in the primary on social media and in the media, was sentenced to seven years and three months. Many of the group had been on remand for years after being denied bail during a marathon hearing in March 2021. Out of 47 defendants arrested by Hong Kong\u2019s national security police in a predawn raid in January 2021, 31 pleaded guilty, including Tai. In May, the court found 14 of the remaining activists guilty of subversion and acquitted two others, former district councillors Laurence Lau and Lee Yue-shu. The trial, which ran for 118 days after its start was repeatedly delayed, was overseen by three hand-picked judges and eschewed many conventions of Hong Kong\u2019s common law legal system, including trial by jury and the presumption in favour of bail. Defendants who pleaded guilty received shorter sentences in mitigation. Among them were former journalist and legislator Claudia Mo, 67, who received four years and two months, and internationally well-known activist Joshua Wong, 27, who received four years and eight months. Observers said they expect prosecutors to file appeals seeking longer sentences for at least some of the activists, with Tai and Wong among the likely candidates. Under Hong Kong\u2019s Beijing-drafted national security law, defendants charged as \u201cprimary offenders\u201d face a maximum punishment of life imprisonment, while lower-level offenders face sentences of between three and 10 years. As the sentences rolled in on Tuesday, it was an emotional moment for Kevin Yam, a former Hong Kong lawyer who is now based in Australia. During his career in Hong Kong, Yam, who is wanted by city authorities for alleged national security offences, knew or engaged with many of the 45 defendants, including Tai. Earlier this year, Hong Kong passed local national security legislation based on \u201cArticle 23\u201d of the city\u2019s mini-constitution, introducing a range of new offences including theft of state secrets and treason. Between July 2020 and December 31, 2023, 286 individuals were arrested by national security police under the city\u2019s national security or colonial-era sedition laws, according to a tally by the Georgetown Center for Asia Law. Of those, 156 people have been charged, including the so-called Hong Kong 47.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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