Political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong this week (20 May - 24 May)
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. Mr Lai’s trial was expected to last 80 days, but is now on day 83.
Jimmy Lai’s lawyers to argue ‘no case to answer’ in national security trial
On Monday, Jimmy Lai’s lawyer and senior counsel Robert Pang said the defence would argue that the evidence from the prosecution is insufficient to support the conviction of Mr Lai. Mr Pang requested time to “prepare a ‘no case to answer’ written submission” to present to the court.
Following this request, the prosecution continued to present alleged evidence against Mr Lai including media interviews between Mr Lai and foreign media outlets. This included an interview between Mr Lai and the Fox Business Network titled, ‘Hong Kong might not be a financial hub anymore’. The prosecution also presented an interview between Mr Lai and The Financial Times in August 2020, when Mr Lai said, “A Hong Kong without the rule of law will not be a financial center, everything we have will disappear, be it freedom of the press, private property, or religious freedom, because the foundation of Hong Kong is the rule of law and all its societal institutions.”
The prosecution played clips from Mr Lai’s personal online interview program, ‘Live Chat with Jimmy Lai’, which features overseas journalists, academics, and human rights advocates. The clips focused on future threats to freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong, with Mr Lai saying to Cardinal Joseph Zen, “If the Church in Hong Kong faces pressure to become a patriotic church like in China, would you start an underground church here? If you are the first leader, I will be the first believer in your parish.” In another episode, Mr Lai said he hopes European nations will follow the US in imposing technology-related sanctions on China.
The allegedly criminal activities of Mr Lai, including speaking with foreign media outlets, expressing his opinions, and interviewing journalists, academics, and human rights advocates, are permissible under international law, including within the scope of Hong Kong’s international legal obligations.
香港政治犯審訊每週簡報（2024年5月20日至24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。黎被控「串謀勾結外國勢力」等三項《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。黎智英案預計審期為80日，但審訊現已踏入第83日。
黎智英代表資深大律師擬申請「毋須答辯」
週一，代表黎智英的資深大律師彭耀鴻表示控方證據不足，並擬向法庭申請「毋須答辯」。
控方繼續呈交指控證據，包括黎智英與外國傳媒的媒體訪問。其中包括黎接受美國《霍士財經網（Fox Business Network）》的訪問，標題為〈香港可能不再是金融中心〉（‘Hong Kong might not be a financial hub anymore’）。控方亦播放了《金融時報（Financial Times）》於2020年8月訪問黎智英的片段，當時黎表示：「沒有法治的香港不會成為金融中心，我們擁有的一切都會消失，包括新聞自由、私有財產、或宗教自由，因為香港的基礎是法治及其所有社會制度。」
控方播放了黎智英個人網上訪談節目「Live Chat with Jimmy Lai」中的一系列片段，該節目邀請海外記者、學者和人權倡議者為嘉賓。片段中黎談到香港宗教或信仰自由未來面臨的威脅，當中，黎向天主教香港教區榮休主教陳日君樞機問：「如果香港教會面臨像在中國一樣成為愛國教會的壓力，你會在這裏建立一個地下教會嗎？如果你是第一任領袖，我會是你教區的第一個信徒。」在另一集節目中，黎表示希望歐洲國家效法美國對中國實施與科技相關的制裁。
黎智英被指控的罪行，包括與外國傳媒聯絡、表達自己的觀點，以及採訪記者、學者和人權倡議者，均在國際法下允許，亦包括在香港國際法律義務的範圍內。