Law & Justice

Macao Court Imposes 12½‑Year Sentence on Former Legislator Au Kam‑san

By AP

A Macao court sentenced 69‑year‑old former pro‑democracy legislator Au Kam‑san to 12 years and six months in prison after a closed‑door national security trial. The ruling, issued Friday, found Au guilty of subverting state power by spreading false information between 2023 and 2024 to disrupt Macao’s 2024 leadership election. The court also said Au had worked with hostile organisations abroad to advance a political agenda and leaked confidential information to overseas groups. In a statement, the court noted that although Au was a first‑time offender and admitted to a significant portion of the criminal facts, he demonstrated a high degree of intent and the unlawfulness and potential consequences of his crimes were very serious. Au’s wife, Virginia Cheang, wrote a public letter calling the case a political trial and a groundless persecution, questioning the shift from a closed‑door trial to a public verdict. Au was arrested last year, the first public prosecution under Macao’s 2009 security law. He had served 20 years in the Beijing‑dominated legislature before resigning in 2021 and had helped organise Macao’s commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest and massacre in Beijing. Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Maya Wang said the sentence sends a chilling message to peaceful critics and urged the European Union and Portugal to push for his release. Macao’s government and China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office supported the sentence. The decision came a day after Hong Kong pro‑democracy activist Joshua Wong, imprisoned since 2020, was jailed for an additional 10 years under the city’s national security law. Macao, a former Portuguese colony, became a special administrative region of China in 1999.