The group of pro-democracy politicians and activists are accused of subversion for organising an unofficial primary.
The national security trial of dozens of people — from former pro-democracy legislators to activists and legal scholars — has begun in Hong Kong more than two years after they were arrested in pre-dawn police raids across the territory.
The defendants are accused of “subversion” for organising an unofficial primary to choose their candidates for the 2020 Legislative Council election that the government later postponed blaming the coronavirus pandemic.
There was a heavy police presence, including officers with dogs, outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts building ahead of the proceedings.
Some people began lining up overnight for a seat in the public gallery, with the queue snaking around the building by the morning.
“There’s certainly huge sympathy for the people who are standing trial,” said Al Jazeera’s Richard Kimber, reporting from Hong Kong. “There’s certainly a lot of frustration that it’s taken this long to get to this stage and that those who’ve been detained have not been able to speak out since they were arrested.”
Those charged include prominent activists Leung Kwok-hung, known as “Long Hair”, and Gordon Ng Ching-hang, who faces potential life imprisonment as one of five people accused of being a “major organiser” of the primary.
“There’s no crime to answer. It is not a crime to act against a totalitarian regime,” defendant and former legislator Leung told the court.
Judge Andrew Chan responded that the hearing was a “solemn occasion” and asked for respect from the defendants and members of the public.
Those who have pleaded guilty include internationally-known activists like Joshua Wong, Claudia Mo, a former journalist turned legislator, and law expert and former academic Benny Tai.
Together, the 47 accused account for much of what remains of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy leadership after mass protests calling for political reform in 2019 came to an inconclusive end with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the national security law pushed many into exile.
