Macau jails Au Kam San for 12 years and six months in its first national security case

6 November 2026

A court in Macau has sentenced former lawmaker Au Kam San, 69, to 12 years and six months in jail in the first national security case in the city. On Friday judges found him guilty, after a closed-door trial, on four of the seven charges he faced, including subversion against the political power of the state. Au sat in the Legislative Assembly for 20 years after his election in September 2001. China regained Macau in 1999 after over 400 years under Portuguese rule. The national security law of the city dates from 2009 and was widened in 2023 to cover non-violent acts of secession. A further change this year allowed trials to be held behind closed doors.