Macau jails ex-lawmaker 12 years in first national security trial

Macau has sentenced former lawmaker and pro-democracy campaigner Au Kam San to 12 years and six months in prison, marking the city's first national security case, BBC reported. Au was convicted of 'subversion against the political power of the state' and other offenses following a closed-door trial.

Au, aged 69, was accused of assisting external hostile organizations by collecting and disseminating information with subversive political claims against the state, according to DW English. Prosecutors said these acts took place over a long period.

The national security law, effective since 2009 in Macau after its handover to China in 1999, criminalizes treason, secession, and subversion against the Chinese Communist Party. It was revised in 2023 and again this year to broaden its scope and allow closed-door trials.

Au was arrested in July 2025 and charged with multiple counts including subversion and endangering national security by contacting foreign organizations. His wife criticized the ruling as a groundless persecution, BBC reported.

The trial's closed-door nature and the charges raised concerns about political freedoms in Macau, where the legislature is dominated by pro-China loyalists, DW English noted. Au had served in the legislature for two decades before stepping down in 2021.