Macau holds first closed-door national security trial

Macau was to start its first national security trial behind closed doors on Wednesday, in a case against a former pro-democracy lawmaker charged with subversion.

The Chinese casino hub expanded the scope of national security laws in May 2023, and a new bill passed this year allows judges to hear national security cases behind closed doors.

Au Kam San, a former Macau lawmaker who was detained in July 2025, was the first person to be arrested under the island's new laws and is the first to face a closed trial.

The 69-year-old has been charged with "subversion of state power", as well as building ties with foreign groups and media outlets that endanger China.

Since Au's arrest, details about the case have remained scarce.

Michael Polak, a London-based barrister representing Au, said holding the hearings in private would "be a sham process".

Prosecutors' allegations appear to arise from Au's "peaceful political activity, belief in democracy, and his regular meetings with the Office of the European Union to Hong Kong and Macau", Polak's group said earlier this year.

Au was also one of the organisers of annual vigils in Macau -- a former Portuguese territory which reverted to China in 1999 -- to remember the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Macau and Hong Kong were once the only places in China where such public commemorations could take place.

An AFP reporter outside the court Wednesday had their details registered by police, and officials did not confirm whether the case had started.

AFP saw several vans arriving at the court, but it was not clear who was inside.

A judge last week decided to "hold the trial behind closed doors in order to ensure that national security interests are not compromised", said a statement released by judicial authorities.

- 'Path to ruin' -

The European Union has condemned Au's arrest, saying it only heightened concerns about the "erosion of political pluralism" in the territory.

Last year, the authorities also seized pro-democracy books and material relating to the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown from his home, according to Polak's advocacy group.

Eilo Yu, a Macau political scientist, said the closed-door trial is sending a chilling message to the city, as the authorities are attempting to "shrink the entire civic space to its absolute minimum".

Au's family said earlier this year that they had long been unable to contact him or his court-appointed lawyer.

Under Macau's security law, subversion offences are subject to a prison term of up to 25 years.

Joe Che, a 47-year-old self-employed worker, told AFP: "I would naturally hope that the information could be as open and transparent as possible."

"A closed-door approach is never ideal, as citizens are actually left in the dark about what is happening," Che added.

Resident Bell, who did not want to give her real name, told AFP that the city is "now faced with such high-pressure circumstances that it is hard to speak out".

"Criminalising speech... is a one-way path to ruin."