Macao: Ex-Lawmaker Gets 12.5 Years After Unfair Trial

(London) - A court in Macao, a special administrative region of China, sentenced the former lawmaker and democracy activist Au Kam San to 12.5 years in prison on November 6, 2026, on baseless national security charges, Human Rights Watch said today.

Macao's Court of First Instance, in the first publicly known case under the city's national security law, convicted Au on five charges involving "subversion of state power," "establishing links with foreign forces to endanger national security," and "violation of secrecy." The Macao government should quash the sentence and immediately and unconditionally release Au.

"The Macao authorities' bogus prosecution of former lawmaker Au Kam San reflects Beijing's escalating repression across its territories," said Maya Wang, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The sentence, which could keep the democracy advocate in prison until he'd be past 80, is both outrageous and cruel."

The court did not release the full judgment, but only a summary of its decision. It ruled that Au worked with unspecified overseas "hostile" organizations "over an extended period" to disseminate materials advocating subversion and inciting hatred against the Chinese government, as well as to provoke hostile foreign action against China and disrupt Macao's 2024 election for chief executive.

It also found that, while serving as a lawmaker in 2021, he disclosed confidential information about casino license renewals from a legislative committee meeting to overseas organizations. The court did not identify the organizations or substantiate the charges in detail, but claimed Au did not dispute most of the facts.

Au's prosecution involved serious violations of his right to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said. He had been detained since July 2025.

In July 2026, his family told reporters that the authorities had held him incommunicado and denied him access to the lawyer his family found for him. Au was instead represented by a court-appointed lawyer, who had undergone the government's required national security vetting, the court statement said. Article 36 of Macao's functional constitution, the Basic Law, guarantees residents access to legal counsel to protect their lawful rights and interests. In its November statement, the court said Au's family had been allowed to visit him "regularly."

Au was tried in a closed-door hearing over three days, from September 16 to 18. A law that Macao adopted in March permits closing court proceedings to the public when Macao's national security committee determines that national security is at risk. The committee's decisions are not subject to appeal or judicial review.

Au, a Portuguese and European Union citizen and former primary school teacher, was one of Macao's longest-serving pro-democracy lawmakers. Directly elected to the Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2021, he was one of its few consistent voices for democratic reform, government accountability, and social causes.

He campaigned for 15 years for free public education and more public housing, scrutinized government spending, and raised concerns about corruption and the misuse of public funds. After leaving the legislature, he remained engaged in public affairs, including efforts to protect Macao's historic Guia Lighthouse.

Au also played a major role in Macao's small civil society. For 30 years, his group, the Macao Union of Democratic Development (澳門民主發展聯委會), organized annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre in Beijing, even as he and fellow organizers experienced abuse for their efforts, including physical assaults and loss of jobs.

Macao was a Portuguese colony until 1999, when its sovereignty was transferred to the People's Republic of China. Macao's government has long suppressed critical voices. It has arbitrarily arrested opposition figures and journalists, severely restricted protests, and barred Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and journalists from entering the territory.

The crackdown on political opposition and civil society has intensified in recent years, Human Rights Watch said. Authorities disqualified 21 people in 2021 and 12 in 2025 from running for legislative seats, citing vague reasons such as "disloyalty" to Macao. In 2021, Macao's Court of Final Appeal upheld the government's arbitrary ban on the Tiananmen Massacre vigils, ruling that the organizers' political slogans violated the Chinese Constitution and Macao's Basic Law by urging the public to "overthrow the existing political system."

Macao's draconian Law on Safeguarding National Security, enacted in 2009 and amended in 2023, undermines the rule of law and human rights guarantees enshrined in the Basic Law, and contravenes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which applies to Macao through the Basic Law. The 2023 amendments extended the National Security law to nonviolent acts; previously, only violent acts were punishable.

The European Union has condemned Au's conviction and sentencing, and Portugal has raised the case directly with the Chinese authorities.

"Portugal, the European Union, and other concerned governments should publicly and forcefully press for Au Kam San's immediate and unconditional release," Wang said. "Countries should take note of the recent harsh sentences handed down in Hong Kong and Macao and consider what that means for their long-term relationship with the Chinese government."