Macao Court Sentences Former Lawmaker Au Kam San to 12½ Years in Security Case

A landmark national security case

November 6, 2026 · 9:00 p.m. Central / November 7, 11:00 a.m. Macao

A Macao court has sentenced former pro-democracy lawmaker Au Kam San to 12 years and six months in prison in the city’s first publicly known national security prosecution.

The Court of First Instance announced the combined sentence Friday following a trial held behind closed doors in September, Reuters reported. Au, 69, was convicted of subversion, contacts with outside groups to endanger national security and breach of secrecy, according to the court.

The verdict drew objections from his family and rights groups. The court said an approved lawyer represented Au and that he exercised his right to a defense, according to The Associated Press.

What the court said

In its published statement (in Portuguese), also reproduced in English by the Macau Post Daily, the court said Au had assisted external organizations in collecting and disseminating material it found false or intended to undermine state power. Those are the court’s findings; the case was heard in private, limiting public scrutiny of the evidence.

The judges also convicted him of breaching secrecy over information from a closed legislative committee meeting. They acquitted him on two other subversion counts after finding reasonable doubt about whether the conduct met the legal threshold. The 12½ years is a combined sentence, not a separate term for each count.

Au was arrested in July 2025. Reuters described the case as the first known trial under the territory’s national security law; his family’s position on any appeal was not established in the sources reviewed.

Family and rights groups object

Au’s wife said the family considered both the verdict and sentence unacceptable, Portuguese outlet Observador reported through Lusa. His daughter told AP that she believed he had done nothing criminal and said a lawyer previously arranged by the family could not see him.

The court said an attorney approved by Au had represented him and that family visits had been authorized. Amnesty International criticized the sentence in a post on X. Those objections and the court’s account are distinct descriptions of the proceedings.

Macao is a Chinese special administrative region with its own legal system. Its national security law was enacted in 2009, AP reported; the case is being watched for what it may mean for political expression in the territory.

Where the court ruled

The star marks the approximate center of Macao, not the specific site.

★ Approximate Macao city center. Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Open map.

The case timeline

Dates are local to Macao.

2009 Macao’s national security law was enacted, according to AP.
July 2025 Au was arrested.
September 16 and 18, 2026 The court held the trial in private, according to its statement.
November 6, 2026 The court publicly read the judgment and imposed the combined sentence.