In Hong Kong, the trial of the “47” brought together almost the entire pro-democratic opposition

2023-12-04 07:00:20
A pro-democracy activist demonstrates outside West Kowloon courts as final arguments open in Hong Kong’s largest national security trial against 47 pro-democracy figures, November 29, 2023. LOUISE DELMOTTE / AP

The last phase of the trial, that of the final argument where the prosecution and then the defense summarize their arguments, ended on Monday December 5, in room three of the Grand Court in West Kowloon, a district of Hong Kong. As the accused returned to prison with a tired smile, their loved ones sent them some shy signs of affection and encouragement.

Behind the double doors of the courtroom, most of them are afraid to speak. Those who accept do so anonymously. They express weariness, disgust, despair and resignation. “That the trial is finally over is a relief because all these sessions and all this procrastination were exhausting. But I can’t be optimistic about the verdict.”, confides the sister of one of the detainees. She specifies that her brother suffers deeply in prison: “ The discipline is terrible. They are punished for the slightest deviation. »

Although it is the trial of “the 47” participants in the 2020 opposition primaries, there were only 16 of them in the dock in recent days: they are the only ones to have pleaded not guilty to “conspiracy with a view to subversion”. This crime is punishable by life imprisonment, under article 22 of the new national security law (LSN). Legislation imposed by Beijing in June 2020, following the major revolt that shook Hong Kong the previous summer, with the aim of eradicating any hint of opposition or protest.

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We recognize, behind the thick glass of the accused box, the experienced deputies Lam Cheuk-ting, 46 years old, of the Democratic Party, and Leung Kwok-hung nicknamed Long Hair, 67 years old, of the League of Social Democrats, as well as the journalist Gwyneth Ho, 33, who decided to get involved in politics after being brutally attacked by gangsters on July 21, 2019, in Yuen Long metro station. These defendants are surrounded by security agents in khaki green, who escorted them from their respective prisons. Three quarters of the 47 defendants have been in preventive prison since their indictment in February 2021.

Celebrities and lesser-known faces

Alongside these celebrities of political life “ from before », there are also several faces less known to the public, committed citizens who simply wanted to try their luck in the legislative elections scheduled for September 2020 and who, as such, participated in the primaries: Clarisse Yeung for example, 36 years old, graduate of fine arts, who intended to highlight local culture, protection of the environment and animals, elected in 2015 to the Wan Chai district council, or lawyer Lawrence Lau, 55, who defends himself -even. The latter are part of the dozen accused, out of the 47, who are on conditional release.

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