Jailed Hong Kong Activists Appeal Convictions in Landmark National Security Law Case

The Court of Appeal began a 10-day hearing on the appeals of 13 activists who were jailed over unofficial pro-democracy election primaries held in 2020.

People queue outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court in Hong Kong on Nov. 19, 2024. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Thirteen pro-democracy activists jailed in Hong Kong’s biggest national security trial appealed their convictions and sentences on Monday.

The Court of Appeal began hearing the case on Monday at the West Kowloon courts, where scores of police officers, some with police dogs, patrolled the area and occasionally searched passers-by.

Foreign diplomats from over half a dozen countries were in attendance for this latest stage of the legal saga that began with dawn police raids on the homes of high-profile pro-democracy activists in early 2021.

The appellants are among the “Hong Kong 47,” or the 47 defendants who were arrested and charged in 2021 over pro-democracy election primaries in 2020. The Hong Kong government had warned that the primaries could be in breach of the Beijing-imposed national security law that took effect on July 1, 2020. The unofficial primaries drew more than 600,000 votes, almost half the number of votes in the official elections in 2021.

In November 2024, 45 of the defendants were convicted or found guilty of conspiracy to commit subversion, and received sentences of between 50 and 120 months. Two defendants were acquitted.

The defendants were accused of attempting to establish unified pro-democracy candidates through the unofficial primary election to boost their chances of securing an unprecedented parliamentary majority. Prosecutors accused them of intending to disrupt the government and force Hong Kong’s leader to resign by “indiscriminately vetoing” budget proposals.

Some rights groups and countries have condemned the case as politically motivated and called for the release of pro-democracy activists jailed.

Among the 13 prisoners who appealed, 12 were found guilty and are appealing their convictions.

Gordon Ng, Cheng Tat-hung, Clarisse Yeung, Pang Cheuk-kei, Kalvin Ho, Helena Wong, Ho Kwai-lam, Raymond Chan, Owen Chow, Lam Cheuk-ting, Leung Kwok-hung, and Winnie Yu were sentenced to between 78 and 93 months in prison.

Wong Ji-yuet, who pleaded guilty, appealed her sentence term of four years and five months.

Erik Shum, representing two of the defendants, said the activists’ actions were legal because vetoing bills is within lawmakers’ rights and such votes “could not possibly be an abuse of power.”

The court is also hearing an appeal from the prosecutors who are seeking to overturn the acquittal of barrister and former district councillor Lau Wai-chung.

The hearing is expected to last 10 days.

Amnesty International said the hearing is “a pivotal chance to correct mass injustice.”

“This appeal is a pivotal test—not just for these 13 individuals, but for the future of freedom of expression in Hong Kong,” the nonprofit’s China director, Sarah Brooks, said in a statement. “Only by overturning these convictions can Hong Kong’s courts begin to restore the city’s global standing as a place where rights are respected and where people are allowed to peacefully express their views without fear of arrest.”

At the end of June, Amnesty said its analysis shows more than 80 percent of people convicted under the national security law were targeted for what’s considered legitimate expression by international standards.

Reuters contributed to this report.