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Thursday, November 12, 2026 · UTC
Courts

Macao jails ex-lawmaker for 12 and a half years in first security case

Au Kam-san sat in the legislature for 20 years. He was tried behind closed doors for subverting state power. His wife calls it a political trial.

Gus Ferreira
Courts Writer
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Stands on 12 placed sources from 2 publishers.
A Macao court sentenced Au Kam-san to 12 years and six months in prison.[1] He was found guilty of subverting state power.[2] The court said he worked with hostile foreign organisations.[3] A first This was the first public prosecution under Macao's security law of 2009.[4] The law was on the books for 17 years before it was used this way. The trial was held behind closed doors.[5] The defendant Au is a former pro-democracy lawmaker.[6] He served 20 years in Macao's legislature before resigning in 2021.[7] The two readings Virginia Cheang, his wife, described the case as a political trial.[8] Human Rights Watch called on foreign governments to push for his release.[9] Macao's government and China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office backed the sentence.[10] The day before The sentence came one day after Joshua Wong received an additional 10-year jail term in Hong Kong.[11] Macao became a Chinese special administrative region in 1999.[12]
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What this stands on
  1. A Macao court sentenced Au Kam-san to 12 years and 6 months in prison. · aljazeera.comQatar
  2. Au Kam-san was found guilty of subverting state power. · aljazeera.comQatar
  3. The court stated Au worked with foreign hostile organisations. · aljazeera.comQatar
  4. This was the first public prosecution under Macao's 2009 security law. · aljazeera.comQatar
  5. Au Kam San's trial was held behind closed doors. · clickondetroit.com
  6. Au Kam San is a former pro-democracy Macao lawmaker. · clickondetroit.com
  7. Au Kam-san served 20 years in Macao's legislature before resigning in 2021. · aljazeera.comQatar
  8. Virginia Cheang described the case as a political trial. · aljazeera.comQatar
  9. Human Rights Watch called for foreign governments to push for Au's release. · aljazeera.comQatar
  10. Macao government and China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office backed the sentence. · aljazeera.comQatar
  11. Joshua Wong received an additional 10 year jail sentence one day before this ruling. · aljazeera.comQatar
  12. Macao became a Chinese special administrative region in 1999. · aljazeera.comQatar
The one we could place publishes from Qatar. 1 could not be placed by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.
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