Hong Kong court to announce verdict on appeals of 12 jailed activists on February 23

South China Morning Post · Feb 16, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A Hong Kong appellate court will announce its verdict next Monday on the appeals of 12 activists convicted of conspiring to subvert state power in an unofficial election, and also rule on an acquitted defendant in the city’s largest national security trial.Eleven of the 12 found guilty over a scheme during the 2020 Legislative Council election to undermine, destroy or overthrow the administration earlier lodged appeals against their convictions and sentences. They have been serving jail sentences ranging from 6½ years to seven years and nine months.Defendant Prince Wong Ji-yuet, who pleaded guilty and received a sentence of four years and five months, appealed against her punishment and asked for leniency.The Court of Appeal last July heard their appeals after 45 out of 47 defendants were convicted for subversion under the national security law for their roles in an unauthorised 2020 “primary” election that was deemed part of a plot to overthrow the government.The trial court two years ago found that the opposition activists had conspired to secure a controlling majority in the Legislative Council and to indiscriminately reject the government’s budget.Two defendants, social worker Lee Yue-shun and barrister Lawrence Lau Wai-chung, were acquitted. The government appealed against Lau’s acquittal, arguing the trial judges had failed to consider evidence showing Lau’s knowledge of the unlawful scheme and his agreement to be bound by the unofficial poll’s result.