Wire reporting: (AP, via The Philadelphia Inquirer), (Reuters, via Daily Maverick)

A Macau court on Friday sentenced former lawmaker Au Kam San to 12 years and six months in prison in the Chinese special administrative region's first national security case^1,2,8.

The South China Morning Post, citing a court press release, said the Court of First Instance convicted the 69-year-old on four national-security counts, including subversion of state power and establishing links with foreign groups, plus a secrecy violation, and acquitted him of two other subversion counts; CNA, citing TDM, reported the same split. The BBC said he was found guilty of four of seven charges^2,7,1.

The three-day trial ended in September and was held behind closed doors after a judge cited national security interests^1,8.

Prosecutors said Au assisted what they called external hostile organisations by collecting and spreading information of a subversive nature over a long period^1,8.

His wife, Virginia Cheang, condemned the ruling as a "groundless persecution designed to humiliate Au," according to the BBC¹.

Au was arrested in July 2025, assigned a court-appointed lawyer, and not allowed to choose his own counsel, his family has said^1,7.

He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2001 and served about two decades as one of a small number of pro-democracy members before stepping down in 2021^1,2,8.

Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1999; its national security law took effect in 2009 and was later revised to cover non-violent secession and to allow closed trials^1,8.

He had co-organised annual vigils in Macau marking the 1989 crackdown in Beijing, gatherings that have effectively been banned in Macau and Hong Kong in recent years^1,8.

The European Union last year criticised his arrest as adding to concern about political pluralism in Macau⁸.

What remains unknown includes the full evidence, which was not made public, and whether he will appeal^1,2.