The World Uyghur Congress condemned the arrest of pro-democratic supporters for up to 10 years by the Chinese government on Tuesday.

The pro-democracy activists were charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion” under the city’s 2020 National Security Law. In July 2020, 47 former pro-democracy lawmakers and opposition activists organized a primary election to identify the strongest candidates for a pan-democratic list in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council elections scheduled for September 2020.

In a post on X, the WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun stated,” “Jailing pro-democracy key figures, who risk their freedom for democracy, as China continues to restrict key fundamental rights and allows for the shrinking of civil society, should worry all of us.”

The WUC president further lamented “Instead of welcoming Chinese leaders with open arms, democratic nation-states need to address with sincere actions the erosion of the global rule of law and the silencing of dissidents under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”

The WUC has appealed the democratic countries to raise their voices against the arrest of pro-democratic activists.

Beijing argued that the law was essential to protect the economic success of the Asian financial hub, while critics condemned it as signalling the end of the “one country, two systems” arrangement. This formula, established when Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, was intended to preserve freedoms not found in mainland China for 50 years, as reported by Radio Free Asia.

Meanwhile, the prosecution stated that the opposition activist’s bid to win the majority was a “conspiracy” to weaken the government and take the Legislative Council under their control.

According to Radio Free Asia, democratic activist Benny Tai was arrested for 10 years for organising the 2020 primary election. Another activist, Joshua Wong was arrested for four years while activist Owen Chow was sentenced to seven years of jail.