Mitigation hearings end in HK's largest national security case

45 activists await sentencing over formation of 'conspiracy to subvert the state power'

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The last batch of 45 Hong Kong activists entered their final pleas on Sept 3 for light sentences in a landmark national security trial over charges that they had formed a "conspiracy to subvert the state power".

The offence carries up to life in jail under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the financial hub in 2020 after sometimes-violent pro-democracy protests rocked the city for months in 2019.

Judge Andrew Chan said on Sept 3 that the 45 would be sentenced at a later date that has yet to be decided.

A total of 47 activists were arrested and charged in 2021 over their participation in an unofficial poll to select pro-democracy candidates for a 2020 legislative council election.

The defendants are accused of plotting to force the government to meet protest demands, including genuine universal suffrage, by planning to indiscriminately veto the budget if they secured a legislative majority with candidates chosen in the pre-selection poll.