Final Pleas in Landmark Hong Kong Security Trial

The last group of 45 Hong Kong activists entered final pleas for leniency in a national security trial, facing potential life sentences for conspiracy to subvert state power. This follows Beijing's 2020 national security law. The sentencing date remains undecided, with all 47 activists initially charged in 2021.

The last batch of 45 Hong Kong activists pleaded for lighter sentences on Tuesday in a landmark national security trial. They face charges of forming a 'conspiracy to subvert state power,' which could lead to life imprisonment under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after democracy protests in 2019.

Judge Andrew Chan announced that the sentencing for the 45 would be scheduled at a later, yet-to-be-determined date. A total of 47 activists were arrested in 2021 for partaking in an unofficial poll aimed at choosing pro-democracy candidates for the 2020 legislative council election.

The accused allegedly aimed to pressure the government to meet 2019 protest demands, including universal suffrage, by planning to veto the budget if they won a legislative majority through preselection. Of the defendants, 31 pleaded guilty, 16 underwent a 118-day trial last year, and two were acquitted.

(With inputs from agencies.)