Macau Sentences Pro-Democracy Figure Au Kam San in First National Security Case
Au Kam San was sentenced to a term of about 12 and a half years in the city's first national security case, following a closed-door trial, according to two news reports.
Au Kam San was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for "subversion against the political power of the state," according to a BBC News report. The outlet described the case as Macau's first national security case.
ABC News reported that Au Kam San, a former pro-democracy lawmaker, was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison on Friday in the Chinese city's first national security case. That report said the case followed a closed-door trial that raised concerns about fairness.
The two outlets described Au Kam San differently. The BBC headline called him a pro-democracy campaigner, while ABC News identified him as a former pro-democracy lawmaker. The outlets also gave the length of the sentence in different forms, with BBC News writing 12 years and six months and ABC News writing 12 1/2 years. Both figures describe the same term.
The outlets also differed on the city's name. ABC News used "Macao" in its headline, while BBC News used "Macau." Both reports identified the case as the first of its kind in the city under national security law.
The summaries available for this report do not give further detail on the specific charge, the evidence presented at trial, or any response to the sentence from Au Kam San, his representatives, or officials.
Sources: BBC News: Macau jails pro-democracy campaigner in city's first national security case; ABC News: Former pro-democracy lawmaker sentenced to 12 1/2 years in Macao’s 1st national security case.