Hong Kong Court of Appeals upholds jail for 12 activistsReuters, HONG KONGHong Kong’s Court of Appeal yesterday rejected an appeal by 12 pro-democracy activists and upheld their jail terms in a national security case that critics say highlights Beijing’s crackdown on dissent. The appeal stems from the “Hong Kong 47” case, where many leading pro-democracy activists and politicians were arrested en masse in early 2021 and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion. Barrister Lawrence Lau arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts building as 12 pro-democracy activists mount appeals against their convictions, while the Department of Justice separately appeals against Lau’s earlier acquittal in Hong Kong yesterday. “By failing to overturn these wrongful convictions and sentences today, the court has missed a critical opportunity to correct this mass injustice,” said Fernando Cheung (張超雄), a spokesman for Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas. “Peaceful opposition to a government is not a crime, and all remaining jailed members of the Hong Kong 47 should be released immediately and unconditionally,” he said.

Source: Taipei Times February 23, 2026 17:11 UTC