Most of the defendants in this case — 34 out of 47 — have been jailed for almost two years and they are all facing the possibility of life in prison if convicted.
They are charged with "conspiracy to commit subversion" for organising an unofficial primary election.
Their stated aim was to win a majority in the city's partially elected legislature, which would allow them to veto budgets and potentially force the resignation of Hong Kong's leader. The 47 were charged en masse under the national security law that China imposed in 2020, after huge and often violent pro-democracy protests.
"Subversion is a crime that used to require someone who threatened to use violence... to overturn the regime," Kwok told AFP.
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