HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The trial of 47 of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures begins on Monday, in the largest prosecution under a national security law that has crushed dissent in the city.
The proceedings are expected to last more than four months, and the defendants face sentences of up to life imprisonment if convicted.
Authorities have accused the 47 of trying to topple Hong Kong’s China-approved government.
The defendants say they have been targeted for normal opposition politics, with observers saying the trial illustrates how little room there is left to criticize China’s rule since huge pro-democracy protests in 2019 were stamped out.
Those on trial represent a cross-section of Hong Kong’s opposition — from prominent legal scholar Benny Tai, to former lawmakers such as Claudia Mo, Au Nok-hin and Leung Kwok-hung, to younger democracy activists such as Joshua Wong and Lester Shum.
The group were jointly charged in March 2021 with “conspiracy to commit subversion” for organizing an unofficial primary a year earlier to select opposition candidates for a legislature election.
The group was charged en masse under the national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020.
China says the law was needed to curb political unrest, but rights groups and Hong Kong opposition figures say an ensuing crackdown has all but ended the city’s autonomy and political freedoms.