Hong Kong - A Hong Kong court on Tuesday jailed 45 pro-democracy activists, including prominent leader Benny Tai, under its new national security laws, sparking international condemnation.

Legal scholar and democracy activist Tai, who has long been dubbed the "mastermind" behind Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, the longest such sentence yet to be issued.

O 44 other defendants, who were charged after the pro-democracy movement held an informal poll in 2020 with the goal to receive a democratic electoral majority.

Other high-level pro-democracy politicians, including Australian citizen Gordon Ng, also received sentences after being accused of organizing the 2020 "pro-democracy primaries," which sought to get candidates in favor of Hong Kong democracy elected to the territory's legislative council.

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China imposed a new national security law in 2020 following widespread protests which occurred in 2019.

Owen Chow, who stood for election in 2019, received the second-longest sentence after Benny Tai, and faces seven years and nine months in prison.

Prior to the sentencing, Chow took to Facebook to express hope that "we have now seen the end point."

The sentencing triggered international outrage, with Taiwan condemning the sentences and declaring that "democracy is not a crime."

It slammed "the Chinese government's use of judicial measures and unfair procedures to suppress the political participation and freedom of speech of Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists."

The US "strongly" condemned the sentencing in a statement made by a spokesperson from Hong Kong's US consulate on Tuesday.

"The defendants were aggressively prosecuted and jailed for peacefully participating in normal political activity protected under Hong Kong's Basic Law."