We have just heard from Human Rights Watch, which has criticised the verdict as showing an "utter contempt for both democratic political processes and the rule of law".

"Democracy is not a crime, regardless of what the Chinese government and its handpicked Hong Kong court may say," Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"Beijing promised Hong Kong people universal suffrage. It is Beijing that needs to be held accountable for repeatedly reneging on these promises, and for blatantly erasing the basic human rights guaranteed in Hong Kong laws and functional constitution.”

Hong Kong authorities have yet to comment on the verdict but the judges wrote in their executive summary that they agree with the prosecution's argument that the actions of the activists would have created a "constitutional crisis".

Frances Mao
Live reporter

Hong Kong has a common law legal system inherited from the British. But many of the rights and conditions of fair trial given to defendants under that system have been restricted or even scrapped under the territory’s National Security Law.

This case has been one of the most prominent trials demonstrating these losses, legal experts say. The most notable elements:

• Denial of bail: By the time the trial started in February 2023, only 13 of the 47 accused had obtained bail. Many of defendants were denied bail at the point of their arrest - so they have been locked up for almost two years prior to trial, with some even in solitary confinement. Prolonged pre-trial detention undermines the chance of a fair trial and the rule of law, legal experts say.

• No jury: The trial was heard without a jury, as directed by the government under powers it has from the NSL. This was a break from custom as Hong Kong’s other High Court trials have tended to feature juries. Expert say juries are preferred over judges for the most serious crimes, as they are seen to offer a fairer assessment; defendants also have the opportunity to be judged by their peers.

• Hand-picked judges: The trial has instead been heard by three judges from a panel that was handpicked by Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive John Lee, the former head of the police force.

In an interview before activist Leung Kwok-hung was convicted of subversion, his wife, Chan Po-ying, told us that she was firmly behind her husband's decision to stand trial.

"The most important thing is to keep your belief," she said. "Whatever he thinks is right, I will support him."

A "scheme" by the Hong Kong activists would have "paralysed the operation of the Government and inevitably create political instability in Hong Kong leading to [a] constitutional crisis" if it had been carried out, prosecutors alleged and the judges agreed.

This refers to unofficial primaries carried out by the activists where they had hoped to pick opposition candidates for local elections.

The summary said that the 16 activists had between 1 July and 7 January "together with other persons came to an agreement to participate in the scheme... with a view to subverting the state power".

The court added that this scheme would have seen them "indiscriminately veto any budgets or refuse to pass any budgets or public expenditure to be introduced by the Government regardless of the merits or the contents, in the event they were elected to be LegCo members".

Martin Yip
BBC News Chinese, in Hong Kong

Before the hearing started, dozens of people had queued up all night, waiting to be seated in the public gallery - with many wanting to show support for the defendants.

Most of them were on their phones. A few were wrapped in jackets, facing away from the cameras.

There were representatives from the consulates of the UK, the US, Canada, and the EU's mission. But they did not wish to speak to the media.

Outside, there was heavy police presence. Dozens of officers set up a roadblock and cordoned off the pavements.

At the designated protest area - roughly 50m away from the courthouse - Alexandra Wong, a well-known protester who is nicknamed "Grandma Wong", chanted slogans in support of the activists inside, waving a Union Jack.

Those in the dock wouldn't have heard her words.

So this morning the panel of three judges handed down their verdicts and written judgement.

Judges Andrew Chan, Alex Lee and Johnny Chan have since adjourned the court until 14:30 local time (07:30 GMT).

"We are not going to read out the whole reason for verdict," Judge Chan said.

Martin Yip
BBC News Chinese, in Hong Kong

Several members of the League of Social Democrats – one of the very few political groups that still exists in Hong Kong – wanted to stage a protest in support of former lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, who has been found guilty.

But police surrounded them, telling them to head over to a protest zone across the road.

Prior to the verdict, Tsang Kin-sing, a veteran activist known as The Bull, said, “We only had few people and we couldn’t even express [ourselves]. Our purpose today is very simple, we hope the judge will make a wise choice and decision. We hope all of them will be released.”

As we have been reporting, 14 people have been found guilty of subversion - Gordon Ng, Tat Cheng, Clarisse Yeung, Michael Pang, Kalvin Ho, Helena Wong, Sze Tak-loy, Gwyneth Ho, Raymond Chan, Owen Chow, Lam Cheuk-ting, Leung Kwok-hung, Ricky Or and Winnie Yu.

Some of them are quite well-known such as former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, better known as Long Hair, Helena Wong and Clarisse Yeung.

Winnie Yu was a nurse who joined the protests in 2019.

Former journalist Gwyneth Ho shot to fame during the 2019 protests when a livestream of her being attacked went viral.

Owen Chow was a young activist who was among the hundreds who stormed the Legislative Council during the height of the protests.

The judges note in their decision that the sentences for the 14 convicted and 31 who have pleaded guilty will be made at a future date.

"We ruled that the sentencing of the [defendants] be adjourned after the conclusion of the trial and the delivery of the verdict," the court ruled.

They face a maximum of life imprisonment.

The full findings have been released and it's a 310-page report. We'll get the first lines to you shortly.

They are Gordon Ng, Tat Cheng, Clarisse Yeung, Michael Pang, Kalvin Ho, Helena Wong, Sze Tak-loy, Gwyneth Ho, Raymond Chan, Owen Chow, Lam Cheuk-ting, Leung Kwok-hung, Ricky Or and Winnie Yu.

Lawrence Lau Wai-chung, 56, is a barrister and former district councillor who defended himself on the stand.

Lee Yue-shun,30, is a social worker and also a former district councillor. Unlike most of the 47, he was one of those granted bail when he was arrested in 2021.

The court acquitted two of the group who pleaded not guilty.

They are Lawrence Lau Wai-chung and Lee Yue-shun.

Fourteen of the 16 defendants have been convicted of subversion under the National Security Law. Two were acquitted of the charges.

More soon.

The judges have handed down the verdicts to defence teams.

We understand the judges will not be reading out the verdicts.

The hearing has started now and the judges will read out the verdicts shortly.

Lok Lee
BBC Chinese

Some of the defendants arrived at the West Kowloon Law Courts half an hour before the hearing.

Some had solemn expressions with their hands clasped in prayer, while others waved and smiled at the media, but none of them made any statements.

Hong Kong activist leader Nathan Law is one of the 53 who were arrested for organising the unofficial primary election, but he fled into exile in the UK before the NSL came into place.

He spoke to the BBC news channel this morning on why this trial matters.

Their basis of the charge "is such a common norm in democratic countries, but in Hong Kong it turns out to be an act of subversion," Law says.

He says that the way the law has operated so far - a 100% conviction rate so far for all NSL cases - means they will likely be guilty verdicts.

"It's difficult to see the glimpse of hope in short-term because we've seen how sweeping and overreaching the whole national security law authority is in Hong Kong.

"[It's] definitely a devastating day for all Hong Kong people."

We will bring you Law's full video interview shortly.

In 2020, China introduced the National Security Law (NSL) for its territory of Hong Kong, transforming the legal and democratic rights of residents in the territory.

Created in response to anti-China and pro-democracy protests which had taken over Hong Kong’s streets the year before, the law outlawed a wide range of dissenting acts.

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities argued the law was necessary to maintain peace and stability in the city.

But critics say it caused "the end of Hong Kong" as it was known, and has repressed free speech and political criticism.

This year, Hong Kong authorities also imposed a second security law, known as Article 23. This law, which was fast-tracked through Hong Kong's pro-Beijing legislature in March, covers treason, sedition and state secrets, and allows for trials to be held behind closed doors.

Read more about the 2020 NSL here.

Some are well known to the public including opposition lawmakers - Claudia Mo, Helena Wong and Kwok ka-ki - and icons of the 2014 pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong - Joshua Wong and Benny Tai.

But many like Owen Chow, Ventus Lau and Tiffany Yuen represent a new generation of vocal activists. They were among the hundreds who stormed the city's legislative council in July 2019, which was seen as a watershed event in the 2019-2020 protests.

Then there are those who were not involved in politics but were galvanised by the 2019 protests - social workers like Hendrick Lui, entrepreneurs like Mike Lam and a former nurse, Winnie Yu.

Thirty-one of the 47 have pleaded guilty to the charge. Sixteen pleaded not guilty and so face their trial verdict today.