Political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong this week (5 February - 9 February)
Trial of Jimmy Lai
The long-anticipated trial of Jimmy Lai opened on Monday 18 December 2023. Jimmy Lai is a British citizen who founded the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, the largest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. Mr Lai faces three charges under Hong Kong’s Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, and one charge for “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” under the colonial-era sedition law. A long-time critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Mr Lai is one of the most high-profile pro-democracy activists who has been arrested under the NSL.
Developments
This week, the second prosecution witness Chan Pui-man, former associate publisher of Apple Daily, continued to testify. Alleged evidence against Mr Lai included an open letter by Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Watch, on police brutality and the need for ‘moral high ground’ in the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, echoing a term Mr Lai used in foreign interviews. The letter was reportedly circulated in the Apple Daily newsroom.
Jimmy Lai was accused of meeting with foreign politicians including former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and US Senator Ted Cruz. In these meetings, Mr Lai allegedly urged the politicians to pass bills such as the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Mr Lai also publicised a meeting between former US Vice President Mike Pence and former Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan.
In the media, alleged evidence includes Mr Lai’s participation in foreign interviews, writing for and forwarding pieces from foreign media outlets including The New York Times, and instructing Apple Daily employees to include remarks from former Governor of Hong Kong Lord Chris Patten in the news. Mr Lai also allegedly instructed Apple Daily employees to “please continue to do news on the dangers faced by Hong Kong business people doing business in the mainland, frightening those business people so that the pro-establishment camp does not dare to act recklessly.”
Mr Lai was accused of directing Apple Daily employees to use headlines such as “Hong Kong’s Beautiful Stubbornness: 1,030,000” during the 2019 protests, and instructing them to amplify young people’s voices. Mr Lai was also accused of instructing staff to cover news related to police brutality.
In the beginning of January 2024, the prosecution reportedly named several foreign politicians and human rights activists with whom Mr Lai had been in contact over recent years, and showed headshots of some of them. They were named as co-conspirators and collaborators in the trial. Among them are three British citizens: Hong Kong Watch’s co-founder and Chief Executive Benedict Rogers, the Executive Director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) Luke de Pulford, and Bill Browder, a human rights campaigner who pioneered the introduction of Magnitsky sanctions worldwide. We continue to call on British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron to issue a public statement in response to the Hong Kong government targeting these British citizens.
At the start of the trial, Mr Lai pleaded not guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publishing allegedly seditious materials in his trial under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. Mr Lai’s trial is expected to last 80 days. The latest developments can be found on the Hong Kong Watch website.
Other Developments
Development 1: Hong Kong National Security Department says Agnes Chow will be pursued for the rest of her life
Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow Ting, who remained silent after being released on bail in June 2021 and relocating to Canada for study, announced in a social media post in December 2023 that she will not meet bail conditions requiring her return to Hong Kong for fear of threats to her safety and well-being. The Hong Kong authorities continue to refer to her abscondment as “shameful” and “completely devoid of integrity”.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of the Hong Kong National Security Department Andrew Kan said, “No fugitive should harbour the illusion that they can leave Hong Kong and evade criminal responsibility… Unless… Chow surrenders, she will be pursued for the rest of her life.”
In November 2020, Chow was arrested and sentenced to ten months in jail on an unauthorised assembly charge after participating in an alleged unlawful assembly outside Hong Kong police headquarters in June 2020. She was also arrested alongside Jimmy Lai in August 2020 for alleged collusion with foreign forces. Chow co-founded Demosisto, the now-defunct Hong Kong pro-democracy party, alongside activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law.
Hong Kong Watch expressed concerns for her safety, and urged for the protection of all Hong Kong activists abroad, including Chow.
Development 2: Hong Kong activist to face verdict over protesting District Council race
Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu will receive a verdict next week under the sedition law regarding a protest he planned over what he referred to as an “unfair” District Council race. Facing trial on Monday, Mr Koo pleaded not guilty to “attempting or preparing to do an act with seditious intention.” However, Mr Koo did not give evidence and expressed that he was prepared to accept his 14th imprisonment.
Mr Koo was accused of planning to protest at the Hong Kong Registration and Electoral Office (REO) against blocking the participation of pro-democracy candidates in the District Council elections in December 2023. Assistant Electoral Officer Mandy Lau testified that Mr Koo planned to submit a letter which contained claims of the unfairness of the District Council elections due to their “screening threshold” to the REO. The letter also stated that Mr Koo would bring a five-feet-tall coffin and joss paper to protest. These items were collected from Mr Koo’s residence after his arrest.
Hong Kong held District Council elections across all 18 Districts in Hong Kong in December 2023. The participation rate in these elections was 27.54 percent, in contrast to the 2019 elections where participation was 71.2 percent and democratic candidates won by a landslide. There were a total of six arrests on voting day over a planned protest outside a polling station and alleged election interference, with 10,000 national security police deployed at polling stations. All candidates were also required to complete national security vetting to ensure only “patriots” were elected.
香港政治犯審訊每週簡報（2024年2月5日至9日）
黎智英案
黎智英的《國家安全法》案件經數度延期後，終於在2023年12月18日開審。黎智英是英國公民，創辦了香港最大型民主派報紙《蘋果日報》，《蘋果》現已停運。他被控三項《國安法》控罪，最高可判處終身監禁，另被控一項殖民時代煽動法下的「串謀發布煽動刊物」罪。黎智英長期批評中國共產黨，是因《國安法》被捕而備受關注的社運人士之一。
案件發展
本週，第二名控方證人、前《蘋果》副社長陳沛敏繼續作供。控方指出，黎智英在2019年底向陳沛敏傳送香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）的公開信，內容有關2019年抗爭中的警察暴行和堅守道德高地的重要性。
黎智英被指曾會見美國前國務卿蓬佩奧（Mike Pompeo）、美國前眾議院議長佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）和美國參議員克魯茲（Ted Cruz）等外國政要，促請通過《香港人權與民主法案》。控方在庭上展示美國時任副總統彭斯（Mike Pence）會晤前政務司司長陳方安生的新聞，陳沛敏確認按黎指示把新聞「做到最大效果」。
控方展示2019年3月黎智英與陳沛敏的通訊紀錄，黎稱「請繼續做在大陸做生意的香港商人面對的危險，嚇壞那些生意佬，讓建制派不敢造次。」
陳沛敏供稱，6月9日遊行報導標題〈香港人漂亮的固執1,030,000〉按黎智英所建議的方向而訂。她又稱，黎指示《蘋果》要多講述年輕人心聲，另指示警暴新聞要做得深入。
黎智英開審時否認「串謀勾結外國勢力」及「串謀發布煽動刊物」等控罪。黎智英案預計審期為80日，香港監察網站載有案件的最新發展。
其他事件
事件1：周庭棄保不回港報到 港警正式通緝
事件2：擬區選前「抬棺」抗議 古思堯否認企圖煽動 案件2月16日裁決