United Nation's Complaint Submitted on Behalf of Former Macau Lawmaker Mr Au Kam San Facing “Trial” Behind Closed Doors in Macau’s First ‘National Security’ Case
On 11 September 2026, Justice Abroad submitted an official complaint to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom of Belief which argues that the detention of Mr Au, before “trial” and following what appears to be an inevitable “conviction” is arbitrary and unlawful under a number of established bases set out by the Working Group for assessing the legality of detention. On the same day, it was announcement by the Macau authorities that Mr Au will face a “trial” in camera with the public and press excluded from following the proceedings and from assessing any evidence that the authorities might produce.
The bases of the submission to the UNWGAD and Special Rapporteurs is that Mr Au’s detention and prosecution is not being made according to domestic law as the National Security Law does not meet this strict standards of accessibility, specificity, or foreseeability required to meet the international standard for legality and instead, is of a vague nature which enables the Government of Macao/The PRC to use it simply to punish those with whom they disagree, who have not committed any genuine national security offence. Further, it was submitted that the National Security Law is contrary to the Basic Law of Macao which incorporate the rights to freedom of expression and assembly protected in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights into domestic law and is in breach of the Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information which summarises the accepted international law provisions on national security laws and the protection of freedom of expression.
The submission also argues that as Mr Au has been arrested or placed in detention because he exercised the rights or freedoms of speech and assembly, as the international norms relating to the right to a fair trial were not fully respected, and as the prosecution and deprivation of Mr Au’s liberty was due to discrimination based on his political opinion, this also renders his detention now and after “conviction” arbitrary.
On the same date, the Macau authorities announced that Mr Au’s trial will take place behind closed doors next Wednesday 16 September 2026. Mr Au is also being denied access to an independent lawyer.
Mr Polak stated:
The Macau Government’s decision to hold what they refer to as a ‘trial’ in camera confirms our fears the Mr Au is being subjected to a sham process which even the authorities are too embarrassed to subject to the scrutiny of the press and public.
In international law the right to a fair trial includes the right to a trial held in public and any exceptions to this are highly restricted with the State bearing the burden of proving that any restriction on publicity is necessary and proportionate and any court decision restricting publicity required to be reasoned and should itself be public as far as possible. The fact that a Judge purported to make the decision to hold the trial behind closed doors is worrying as it shows a lack of judicial independence and we fear that the result of the ‘trial’ is a forgone conclusion.
The process against Mr Au falls foul of a number of other important provision of the law in relation to fair trial rights such as the right to be defended by Counsel of one’s own choosing. Any decision of the Court will be coloured by the clear breaches of Mr Au’s fair trial rights and the international community should not rely on the inevitable conviction as being a true assessment of criminality of Mr Au, rather than simply being a punishment for his belief and advocacy for democracy, cloaked in legal language.
We call on the Portuguese Government and the European Union to call for the immediate release of Au Kam San who is a Portuguese national.
Further Information
Michael Polak, Director of Justice Abroad and a barrister who acts as Mr Au’s international counsel.
Mr Au Kam San, 68, is a retired schoolteacher and former member of Macao’s Legislative Assembly. He served as a pro-democracy lawmaker for approximately two decades and was associated with the New Macao Association until retiring from politics in 2021. He later continued writing and teaching but was reportedly forced to leave teaching because of his pro-democracy beliefs.
Mr Au is accused of “subversion against the political power of the State”, “establishing links with organisations or individuals outside the Macao Special Administrative Region for the purpose of acts against national security”, and “breach of secrecy”. The allegations appear to arise from Mr Au’s peaceful political activity, belief in democracy, and his regular meetings with the Office of the European Union to Hong Kong and Macao, whose purpose is to build closer ties between the EU and Hong Kong and Macao. Material seized from his home included pro-democracy books and information concerning the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre
On 12 July 2026, a decision was made to put Mr Au on trial under Macao’s national security legislation. The decision followed the conclusion of the preliminary judicial stage on 2 July 2026, and the court’s confirmation of the charges brought by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. All indications are that Mr Au, a Portuguese citizen will not be afforded a fair trial as the exact nature of the allegations against him have not been revealed, he has been prevented from instructing independent legal Counsel in Macao, he was kept in incommunicado detention for almost a year, and he is unlikely to have his case considered by a tribunal sufficiently independent of the Macao authorities.
The Portuguese consulate in Macao has requested a consular visit to Mr Au as provided under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations however this was refused by the Macao/PRC authorities.
Further information and recent media coverage
· MSN Portugal, 12 July 2026: “Activista português detido há 11 meses em Macau: família está desesperada”
· Plataforma, 12 July 2026: “Família diz que Au Kam San está incomunicável”
· Panoramas, 11 July 2026: “Ativista português aguarda julgamento em Macau após 11 meses de isolamento”
· SAPO Executive Digest, 11 July 2026: “Família de antigo deputado detido em Macau pondera recorrer à ONU”
· RFI, 11 July 2026: “Activista português detido há 11 meses em Macau: família está desesperada”
· Público, 11 July 2026: “Activista português sem falar com família desde que foi detido em Macau, há 11 meses”
· SAPO Executive Digest, 10 July 2026: “Defensor de ativista pró-democracia pede a Portugal e UE que pressionem Macau”
· Observador, 10 July 2026: “Defensor de ativista pró-democracia pede a Portugal e UE que pressionem a China”
· The Times, 14 July 2026: “Beijing’s democracy crackdown reaches Macau”
Further Notes for the Press
For comments on this case by the lawyer, Michael Polak, please email contact@justiceabroad.co.uk
Michael Polak
Michael Polak is an international barrister based in London. He practises in international, criminal, and human rights law from Church Court Chambers. Michael is also Director of Justice Abroad which helps people who need assistance dealing with legal proceedings overseas as well as working on human rights advocacy for groups and individuals. He is chair of the group Lawyers for Uyghur Rights, was awarded the International Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for 2021, and is shortlisted as Junior of the Year at the Legal 500 Awards to be determined on 22 September 2026.