By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
HONG KONG (Reuters) -Twelve Hong Kong pro-democracy activists appealed their subversion convictions and jail terms on Monday in a national security case that has spotlighted Beijing’s ongoing crackdown on dissent and drawn international criticism.
The appeal stems from the “47 democrats” case, named for the number of activists who were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021.
The court eventually found 45 of the defendants guilty of organising and holding an unofficial primary election in July 2020 soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to pro-democracy protests the year before. Two defendants were acquitted.
Prosecutors considered the action to be a plot to undermine the Hong Kong government.
Security was tight around the West Kowloon law courts as scores of police officers, some with police dogs, patrolled the area and occasionally searched passers-by.
“They’re not criminals,” said an elderly man surnamed Wong who was among around 100 people queuing to get a public ticket for the hearing.
Foreign diplomats from over half a dozen countries were in attendance for this latest stage of the legal saga that began with dawn police raids on the homes of high-profile democrats in early 2021.
Some rights groups and countries have condemned the case as politically motivated and called for the release of the democrats who were sentenced last November to prison terms of between four and 10 years.
“This appeal hearing is a chance for the courts to start righting the wrongs of this unprecedented mass prosecution,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s China director.
Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have defended the independence of the judiciary, saying no one is above the law and the defendants have received a fair trial.
The defendants were accused of attempting to establish unified pro-democracy candidates through the unofficial primary election to boost their chances of securing an unprecedented parliamentary majority. Prosecutors have said they intended to disrupt the government and even force Hong Kong’s leader to resign by “indiscriminately vetoing” budget proposals.
Of the 16 democrats who pleaded not guilty during the trial, 11 have appealed their convictions, including Gordon Ng, Gwyneth Ho and Owen Chow, who were all jailed for over seven years. Prince Wong, who pleaded guilty, is appealing her sentence.
The appeals are expected to take around 10 days, and also include a government request to overturn the acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau.
Erik Shum, a lawyer for two of the defendants, argued the democrats’ actions were legal as lawmakers were free to vote against any bills and such votes “could not possibly be an abuse of power”.
A years-long crackdown under a China-imposed national security law has resulted in scores of arrests and the closures of liberal media outlets and civil society groups.
(Additional reporting by Charis Yu; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
