Dozens of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in the biggest case under a national security law that critics say has crushed political activism in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.

The U.S. has described the trial and its guilty verdicts as "politically motivated," and has demanded that the defendants be released.

A pivotal trial in Hong Kong involving 45 pro-democracy campaigners could impose significant jail terms, further crippling the city's democratic movement. Charges stem from unofficial primary elections,

Dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists will be sentenced later this week in a years-long subversion trial that has spotlighted what critics say are erosions to the city's freedoms under a China-imposed national security law.