How did judges decide prison sentences handed down in Hong Kong 47 trial?

Sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years for conspiracy to commit subversion were proportionate with severity of crime, experts say

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Jailed opposition activists are taken from West Kowloon Court in a prison vehicle to start their sentences. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 8:30am, 21 Nov 2024

The sentences handed down to former opposition activists in Hong Kong’s landmark national security case on Tuesday were proportionate, neither too lenient nor overly harsh, given the court’s decision that the plot they hatched undermined national security and was tantamount to wanting to overthrow the government, some legal experts have said.

The experts contacted by the Post also said the sentencing had its own unique circumstances that should not set a precedent for punishments in future subversion or national security-related trials.

At the close of the city’s largest and longest-running national security trial so far, 45 defendants received jail sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years for conspiracy to commit subversion. Another two defendants were cleared by the court in May.

Thirty-one of the 45 pleaded guilty and 14 others were convicted in May for taking part in a plot in 2020 to overthrow the government by securing a majority in the Legislative Council and indiscriminately voting down budgets and other bills to trigger a constitutional crisis.

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Hong Kong 47: 'Mastermind' Benny Tai jailed for 10 years for plot to overthrow government

The court sentenced former University of Hong Kong (HKU) legal academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who it said had “advocated for a revolution” and masterminded the scheme, to 10 years in prison as a principal offender under Article 22 of the 2020 national security law.

Grenville Cross, a barrister and former director of public prosecutions, said: “There are 45 sentences, and whereas some seem on the lenient side, others appear about right.