The largest trial of democracy activists in Hong Kong, in which around fifty defendants are to be convicted, entered its final stretch on Wednesday with the opening of the final debates, more than 1,000 days after the trial began.
The 47 defendants are being prosecuted for violating Hong Kong’s strict national security laws and face life sentences.
The affair has become a symbol of Hong Kong’s criminalization of dissent for opponents of Beijing’s takeover of the territory.
It is also the largest trial of democracy activists in Hong Kong since the territory was returned to China in 1997.
In the dock are pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, law professor Benny Tai and two former MPs, Claudia Mo and Au Nok-hin. The 47 defendants represent a broad cross-section of Hong Kong’s opposition.
All face life imprisonment if found guilty of “conspiracy to overthrow state power” for organizing an unofficial primary to select opposition candidates for parliamentary elections in July 2020.
A long-time activist nicknamed “Grandma Wong” demonstrated outside the court on Wednesday with the British flag in her hand and a sign that read: “Free the 47, free them all.”
“I hope they can be released immediately,” she told AFP. They wanted “real universal suffrage, there was no other motive, it was not about seizing power.”
According to prosecutors, the defendants tried to gain a majority in the city’s partially elected assembly by threatening to block the budget vote if the government refused to meet the “five demands” of 2019 pro-democracy protesters.
Demands included an independent investigation into alleged police brutality against protesters and universal suffrage in local elections.
According to the indictment, the activists may have wanted to force the resignation of Hong Kong’s then pro-Beijing leader, Carrie Lam.
Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, drafted during the city’s handover from the United Kingdom to China in 1997, allows the head of government to dissolve the assembly if the budget is vetoed.
However, if the newly elected representatives veto the budget again, the city leader will have to resign.
“Conspiracy”
All 47 defendants were charged together in March 2021. Most were refused bail and 31 pleaded guilty.
The trial was held without a jury at the request of Hong Kong’s attorney general, who cited “involvement of foreign elements” in not using the tradition of jury trials under the “common law,” a court system adopted from the British.
Instead, three judges elected by the government were appointed.
Senior prosecutor Jonathan Man argued on Wednesday that the activists should be convicted even if there was no violence.
“We are talking about a conspiracy to get MPs to indiscriminately veto the budget,” he said, stressing that the national security law must be interpreted strictly.
Randy Shek, one of the defense attorneys, responded that the activists were simply seeking democratic elections in Hong Kong. “They relied on a constitutional mechanism to bring about political changes that cannot be subversive,” he told the court.
In October, a group of United Nations human rights experts raised concerns about the trial.
“We are very concerned about the use of mass trials in cases involving national security law” and possible violations of due process and the right to a fair trial, they said.
Lawyers and the prosecution are expected to present their closing arguments within ten days. The court was expected to deliver its verdict three to four months later.