Macau closes trial of Portuguese accused of subversion

“ A request by the Public Prosecutor and with the confirmation of the State Security Defense Commission [CDSE] of the Macao Special Administrative Region, the judge holding the case (...) decided to proceed to the trial of the case behind closed doors in order to ensure that no harm is caused to the interests of the State security”, reads a statement released by the Base Judicial Court (TJB).

In this first case of national security to be tried on the territory, Au is accused of “subversion against the political power of the State” and “establishment of links” with external entities “for the practice of acts against the security of the State”, said in July the TJB.

For the crime of subversion against the political power of the state, Au risks a sentence that can reach 25 years in prison.

The former deputy was arrested on July 30, 2025 in Macau and has been in protective custody since that day.

The law that frames the CDSE, approved in March this year, imposes restrictions on the appointment of a lawyer and allows closed-door trials in cases of national security. The diploma stipulates that the choice of a lawyer for these cases is subject to the approval of a judge, who refers the application to the CDSE so that it delivers a binding and non-appealable opinion.

It is also established in this law that it is up to the judges to decide whether the trials are behind closed doors, “taking into account the damage that advertising can cause to the interests of state security and when this is confirmed by the CDSE”, a body chaired by Macau’s Chief Executive, Sam Hou Fai.

In a statement issued in July, the TJB noted that Au Kam San is being represented by an unofficial lawyer, expressly and legally approved by the CDSE.

“ During the investigation, taking into account the need to protect the interests of State security, and after issuing, by the Macao Special Administrative Region State Security Defense Commission [RAEM], of a binding verification opinion, the criminal investigation judge granted special authorisation so that the lawyer, officially appointed by the court and previously recognised by the defendant, would continue to exercise sponsorship in defense of the defendant, having ensured, under the law, the procedural rights to which he is entitled”, wrote the court.

In September, on a visit to Macau, Portuguese Prime Minister Louis Montenegro admitted that he did not discuss the arrest of Au Kam San at a meeting with Sam Hou Fai and argued that the case requires “the necessary discretion” and “some rectum”.

Montenegro and Sam Hou Fai met again in April in Lisbon, but nothing was said publicly about the arrest of the former Portuguese-born deputy. China and the Macao Special Administrative Region do not recognize dual nationality.

In an interview with the Lusa agency in July, Cherry Au, the daughter of the former deputy, told Lusa that the family had no contact with the father and that the arrest violates the Joint Sino-Portuguese Declaration of 1987.

The agreement, which framed the transition from Macau to the Chinese administration in 1999, provides that the region should maintain fundamental rights and freedoms – including freedom of expression – for a transitional period of 50 years.

“The Chinese Government should not mess with these rights or change all laws to suit their ideology. So it is very frustrating to see Macau go that way, and to lose everything that is in our identity ", lamented Cherry.

Au Kam San was one of the organizers, over more than three decades of the annual vigil – currently banned – in honor of the victims of the repression of June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.