Sentencing is expected on Tuesday following the trial of 47 Hong Kong opposition politicians and pro-democracy activists charged with subversion under the city’s 2020 National Security Law for taking part in a democratic primary in the summer of 2020.
Police on Monday cordoned off the area outside the city’s High Court with traffic barriers and high fences, with armored vehicles standing by. The charge of “conspiracy to commit subversion” carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, but a range of custodial sentences looks likely following three months of mitigation hearings that concluded on Sept. 3. Exiled former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui said the security measures were “a symbol of iron curtain suppression.”
“The use of high fencing to enclose the court ... sends the message that the government is in total control, and that people had better not even dream of putting up any resistance,” Hui said. “The aim is to make the people of Hong Kong give up.”
