Responding to the jail sentences of up to 10 years handed to 45 Hong Kong opposition figures convicted of \u201cconspiring to subvert state power\u201d under the city\u2019s National Security Law, Amnesty International\u2019s China Director Sarah Brooks said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one convicted in this politically motivated case should be spending a day in jail; let alone be facing the kind of lengthy sentences meted out today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMonths ago, we called these convictions a \u2018ruthless purge\u2019 of the opposition, and today that has been borne out. These sentences, despite going through the motions of mitigation and respect for due process, are clearly intended to punish opponents of the Hong Kong government while intimidating others who might dare to follow them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese harsh sentences underline the dire state of Hong Kong\u2019s justice system. None of the 45 people sentenced have committed an internationally recognized crime; they have been jailed only for exercising their human rights. We call once again for their immediate and unconditional release.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Hong Kong\u2019s largest prosecution under the National Security Law, which was enacted in June 2020, 47 defendants were jointly charged with \u201cconspiracy to commit subversion\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thirty-one of the 47 plead guilty to the charge while 16 plead not guilty, two of whom were acquitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The charges relate to their organization and participation in self-organized \u201cprimaries\u201d for the 2020 Legislative Council elections that were ultimately postponed by authorities on Covid-19 grounds before the Chinese government brought in a new electoral system that strictly vetted who could stand for office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city\u2019s chief executive at the time, Carrie Lam said the \u201cprimaries\u201d were illegal and warned that they could be in breach of the National Security Law that had been enacted only weeks earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To treat self-organized \u201cprimaries\u201d conducted by political parties to select candidates to put forward for elections as a genuine threat to Hong Kong\u2019s existence, territorial integrity or political independence does not meet the high threshold of application for \u201cnational security\u201d that international human rights standards require.<\/p>\n\n\n\n