The trial in China of a group of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who tried to escape the city has opened, as the US urged the immediate release of dissidents.
Ten of the so-called « Hong Kong 12 » were in court in the southern city of Shenzhen facing charges linked to an illegal border crossing. Chinese authorities took them into custody after their boat was intercepted on 23 August. READ| China passes feared Hong Kong security law The hearing began as scheduled on Monday afternoon, AFP understands, and was likely to run into the evening. But court officials would confirm nothing about the case and the trial – like many in China’s opaque legal system – was not open to foreign reporters or diplomats. Draconian national security law At least two of the group face around seven years in jail for organising the attempted escape from a city where democracy activists last year led massive protests against Beijing’s rule. Some of the group were already facing prosecution in Hong Kong, where China has imposed a draconian national security law that has stamped out the city’s protest movement. « Their so-called ‘crime’ was to flee tyranny, » a US embassy spokesperson told AFP, ahead of their scheduled court appearance via video link. Urging their « immediate release », the spokesperson said: « Communist China will stop at nothing to prevent its people from seeking freedom elsewhere.
