Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday jailed 45 pro-democracy activists for up to 10 years following a landmark national security trial that has damaged the city's once feisty democracy movement and drawn criticism from the U.

Forty-five prominent activists in Hong Kong have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail, sparking criticism from foreign governments and rights groups.

A Hong Kong court sentenced 45 pro-democracy advocates in a mass trial on Tuesday, marking the largest case yet brought under the city's draconian National Security Law. The group of legislators, opposition politicians and activists were sentenced to between 51 and 120 months Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion of Hong Kong's National Security Law,

The U.S. has criticized the trial and said the activists should be released as they had been "peacefully participating in political activities."

The defendants were prosecuted under a sweeping law imposed by Beijing that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

Defendants include politicians and activists who had hoped to win control of legislature, a plan Beijing found subversive.

Forty-five ex-lawmakers and activists have been sentenced to four to 10 years in prison in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democ