Macao court sentences pro-democracy ex-politician to 12.5 years in jail

A Macao court sentenced 69-year-old former pro-democracy legislator Au Kam-san to 12 years and six months in prison after a closed-door national security trial. He was found guilty of spreading false information in 2023 and 2024 to disrupt Macao’s 2024 leadership election, working with organisations abroad and leaking confidential information. His wife, Virginia Cheang, denounced the case as a political trial and a groundless persecution. A former teacher who served in the legislature for 20 years, Au also helped organise commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.