Most of the 47 pro-democracy figures remanded in custody for their participation in last year’s primary election were now being held in prisons or detention centers, with one struggling to deal with old injuries and poor hygiene conditions.

The majority of the activists were now behind bars after a court denied them bail over the charge of “conspiring to subvert state power,”  a new offense created under the national security law enacted by Beijing last June. They face the charge for their participation in an unofficial primary for the legislative election last year.

Among those in custody was Carol Ng, the former chairperson of the Confederation of Trade Union. She suffered from old injuries that affected her waist and neck, according to unionist Lee Cheuk-yan, who visited Ng on Sunday. The hard bed she slept might worsen her pain, Lee said, adding that he would talk to welfare officers about Ng’s case.

Ng was sent to a hospital for a medical check-up on Saturday. While Ng’s condition was fine, she was struggling to maintain her personal hygiene in the detention center due to its lack of daily necessities, Lee said.

Some of the 47 activists, including localist Ventus Lau and former Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung, remained in high spirits, sharing jokes across their detention cells to kill time, their friends and families said after visiting them on Sunday.

Kwok Ka-ki, another former Civic Party member, was taking his custody as an orientation camp for university, since the detained democrats had a chance to socialize with each other, Kwok’s wife said.

Veteran activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, who has been jailed for a number of times over protest-related offenses, spent most of his time writing poetry, League of Social Democrats Chairperson Avery Ng said.

Democratic Party member and former legislator Andrew Wan continued to discuss work when the party’s chair, Lo Kin-hei, and former legislator Cheung Man-kwong visited him on Sunday.

The Neo Democrats’ Gary Fan was also in high spirits, according to his colleagues Yam Kai-bong and Lui Man-kwong. Fan had been eating much more than he used to do, they said.

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