A closed-door trial for 10 of the 12 Hong Kong activists detained in mainland China has been set to take place next Monday.

Relatives of seven of the detainees were notified on Friday by lawyers assigned by the Chinese government that the trial would take place three days later on Dec. 28 at the Yantian People’s District Court in Shenzhen.

The trial excludes two underage detainees, Liu Tsz-man and Hoang Lam-phuc, who were not prosecuted and would face a separate hearing, according to Chow Hang-tung, a barrister who has been helping the families of those arrested.

The trial would be heard behind closed doors and the results would not be made public, the Yantian court told Commercial Radio Hong Kong. Family members can ask for approval from the relevant judge to attend the trial, and they would be notified by lawyers about the results, it added.

The 12 detainees, who were involved in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, were intercepted at sea by the Chinese Coast Guard while fleeing to Taiwan on Aug. 23. Lawyers appointed by their relatives had not been allowed to visit them. Some sent letters home saying they were fine, but relatives suspect they were forced to pen such missives.

Lu Siwei, a Chinese lawyer appointed by detainee Quinn Moon’s relatives, said he believed a judgment may be handed down on the same day as the trial if there were no special circumstances, such as changes to the evidence, lawyers being fired or disputes over key facts.

It was unlikely that family members could attend the trial, and they should call the court to ask for a livestream, Lu said. Hongkongers traveling to the mainland are subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

It was lawful for the court to have a hearing next Monday and notify families three days earlier, Lu said. The Shenzhen authorities may have wanted to end this case as soon as possible, he added.

The case has yet to be listed on the website of the Yantian court. Its online schedule only showed three civil cases on Dec. 28.

Chinese authorities aimed to deter family members from attending the trial by announcing it only three days before, said former lawmaker Eddie Chu, who has been assisting the families. The announcement was also made on Christmas Day to prevent coverage from the foreign press, Chu added.

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