Overview
- Jimmy Sham, former convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front, was among four activists released on May 30 after serving over four years for conspiracy to commit subversion
- The freed activists include Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong, who had organised an unofficial primary to select legislative candidates in 2020
- They are the second batch of the “Hong Kong 47” to complete their terms, following the late-April release of four former pro-democracy lawmakers
- Of the original 47 charged in early 2021 under Beijing’s national security law, 45 were convicted in November 2024 and received sentences of up to ten years
- Western governments decried the trial as politically motivated while Hong Kong and Beijing authorities maintain the proceedings were fair under the security legislation