The experts contacted by the Post also said the sentencing had its own unique circumstances that should not set a precedent for punishments in future subversion or national security-related trials.
At the close of the city’s largest and longest-running national security trial so far, 45 defendants received jail sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years for conspiracy to commit subversion. Another two defendants were cleared by the court in May.
Thirty-one of the 45 pleaded guilty and 14 others were convicted in May for taking part in a plot in 2020 to overthrow the government by securing a majority in the Legislative Council and indiscriminately voting down budgets and other bills to trigger a constitutional crisis.
Grenville Cross, a barrister and former director of public prosecutions, said: “There are 45 sentences, and whereas some seem on the lenient side, others appear about right.
