Fourteen people have been found guilty in Hong Kong’s largest national security trial – the prosecution of the “Hong Kong 47” pro-democracy campaigners – drawing condemnation from rights groups and western governments.
In a verdict delivered on Thursday, a panel of judges handpicked by Hong Kong’s government found 14 people had committed the national security offense of “conspiracy to subvert state power” by holding unofficial election primaries in 2020.
The convicted included one organiser and 13 candidates, almost all of them former politicians.
The 10-month trial finished in December, more than 1,000 days after the cohort had first been arrested. Among the guilty are former lawmakers and activists including the politician Helena Wong, the veteran campaigner Leung “Long Hair” Kwok-hung, the journalist Gwyneth Ho, and the dual Hong Kong-Australian national Gordon Ng.
