Macao sentences pro-democracy ex-politician to 12.5 years in jail

A Macao court has sentenced former pro-democracy politician Au Kam-san to 12 years and six months in prison after a closed-door national security trial. The ruling was delivered on Friday and found the 69-year-old guilty of subversion. The court said the case centred on alleged efforts to spread false information and disrupt Macao's 2024 leadership election.

According to the court statement, Au was accused of spreading false information in 2023 and 2024 and of working with hostile organisations abroad. The court also said he leaked confidential information to groups overseas. It said he had admitted to a considerable portion of the criminal facts, but added that he showed a high degree of intent and that the seriousness of the offences and their potential consequences were severe.

Au's wife, Virginia Cheang, described the case in a public letter as a political trial and said it amounted to groundless persecution. She questioned the use of a closed-door process followed by a public verdict. Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director, Maya Wang, said the sentence sends a chilling message to peaceful critics and urged the European Union and Portugal to press for his release.

The case is significant because Au's arrest last year was the first public prosecution under Macao's 2009 security law. Au, a former teacher, served in the Beijing-dominated legislature for 20 years before resigning in 2021. He was also involved in organising Macao's commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest and massacre, placing him among the territory's best-known democratic voices.

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The ruling also comes against a wider backdrop of tightening political controls in Macao and neighbouring Hong Kong. Macao is a former Portuguese colony that became a special administrative region of China in 1999, and its authorities have increasingly framed national security as a central legal concern. Macao's government and China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office both backed the sentence, underscoring official support for the court's position.

What remains unclear is whether there will be any appeal or further legal challenge, and how long Au will remain in custody before any next step is announced. The sentence is likely to remain closely watched by rights groups and by observers of political dissent in the territory. It also adds to scrutiny of how Macao's security law is being applied in cases involving public criticism and overseas contacts.

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