Prosecutors in Shenzhen have filed official charges against 12 Hongkongers who are detained in mainland China after a failed attempt to flee to Taiwan.

The Yantian People’s Procuratorate said in a statement on Wednesday that two of the defendants, Quinn Moon and Tang Kai-yin, were charged with organizing an illegal border crossing, an offense which carried a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.

Eight other members of the group were charged with crossing the border unlawfully, which could result in a fine and imprisonment of up to a year. The two remaining defendants were underage and would face a closed-door hearing, the prosecutors added.

The formal charges came nearly four months after the group was first arrested. The 12 were trying to head to Taiwan from Hong Kong on Aug. 23, but they were intercepted at sea by Chinese coast guard and have since been detained in the Yantian district detention center in Shenzhen.

Yantian police completed their investigation into the case on Nov. 27 and passed the case to local prosecutors.

In October, China’s top prosecution body announced that certain cases would have public hearings, with citizens and the media allowed to observe the proceedings. However, hearings involving minors are typically held behind closed doors.

Barrister Chow Hang-tung, who has been assisting the families of the 12 Hongkongers, told Apple Daily that the Shenzhen authorities might drop their charges against the two underage defendants.

In closed-door hearings for underage suspects, prosecutors might choose not to proceed with the case after defense lawyers made a statement on behalf of their clients, Chow said.

She expected the remaining 10 members of the group to face trial in the next two to three months, but noted that Chinese authorities had a track record of arranging politically sensitive trials during Christmas to reduce media attention.

It was common for Chinese authorities to announce the trial date only a few days in advance, and to pack the courtroom so that family members of defendants could not get in, Chow said.

Activist Owen Chow said that the family members of the 12 Hongkongers would consider attending the trials, but it would depend on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chinese authorities might notify the families only days before the hearings, making it impossible for them to meet the 14-day quarantine requirement.

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