Biweekly political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong (14 October - 25 October)
Development 1: Former Stand News editor Patrick Lam seeks to overturn conviction for publishing “seditious” materials
On 26 September, Judge Kwok Wai-kin of the Wanchai District Court sentenced Stand News’ former editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen and former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam to 21 months and 11 months in prison, respectively. They were sentenced under colonial-era sedition laws, the first time such laws have been applied to journalists since the handover in 1997.
This week, Mr Lam filed an appeal seeking to overturn his conviction for publishing “seditious material”. This is despite Mr Lam being released immediately following his sentencing due to a serious medical condition. Alongside Mr Chung, he had already spent over 12 months in jail.
Stand News was a prominent online pro-democracy non-profit digital news outlet which ceased operations and deleted its website in December 2021 after its newsroom was raided by over 200 national security police officers. The paper has been defunct since.
We now await a response to Mr Lam’s appeal.
Development 2: National Security Committee responds to first legal challenge of Article 23 legislation
In March this year, pro-democracy activist Ma Chun-man likely became the first Hong Konger to have the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) applied retroactively to his sentence.
Mr Ma was expected to be released 48 hours after the SNSO went into effect. However, speaking to Mr Ma’s case, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said, “It’s been made very clear that if a prisoner is serving a sentence in respect to his conviction of an offence endangering national security, the prisoner is not entitled to remission.” Under the SNSO, Mr Ma was thus denied the previous one-third remission for the good behaviour of prisoners, and is expected to spend at least 13 more months behind bars.
After being denied remission, Mr Ma filed the first legal challenge against the SNSO in June. Mr Ma claimed “the Commissioner of Correctional Services’ decision to revoke his early release was retrospective and a violation of his rights and of procedural fairness”. He requested the High Court to arrange his immediate release.
This week, the High Court heard from the Committee for Safeguarding National Security regarding the legal challenge. The Committee said it received a report on Mr Ma from the Commissioner of Correctional Services, which was not read out in court but was said to “have the effect of binding the commissioner to make the same decision again, even if the court ruled in favour of Ma”.
Senior Counsel Mike Lui, who represented the government, made clear that the Commissioner would be mandated to “respect and implement” the judgements of the national security committee under the SNSO. Mr Lui went further to say that the decisions of the national security committee are not subject to legal review. Its work is also legally protected from public disclosure.
The retroactive application of the SNSO and final authority of the national security committee will continue to place existing political prisoners and others in Hong Kong who have peacefully exercised their rights and freedoms at heightened risk.
Development 3: Sentencing for 47 democrats tentatively scheduled for 19 November
Following the final round of mitigation pleas for the 47 democrats last month, the sentencing for those found guilty has been tentatively scheduled for 19 November. The imprisonment for this offence ranges from three years to life.
In May this year, fourteen of the 47 democrats were found guilty of alleged subversion under the Hong Kong National Security Law for organising and participating in “unofficial” primary elections for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in July 2020.
This trial is the largest and one of the most significant national security trials since the National Security Law was imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020, and many of the defendants have been behind bars for over three years. The sentencing of this case will set a precedent for cases involving legislators, activists, trade unionists and journalists who have been found guilty for peacefully doing their jobs and partaking in activities that are in line with their rights and freedoms that are guaranteed under international law.
Development 4: British Prime Minister calls for immediate release of Jimmy Lai
During Prime Minister’s Questions last week, Conservative leader Rishi Sunak asked British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, “Does the Prime Minister agree that [the trial of Jimmy Lai] is a politically motivated prosecution and that it is a breach of China’s legal obligations to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration?”
The Prime Minister responded with an emphatic yes, and made clear that Mr Lai’s case is a priority for the new government. The Prime Minister said, “We do call on the Hong Kong authorities to release immediately, our British national, and the Foreign Secretary raised this case in his first meeting with China’s Foreign Minister and will continue to do so.”
Just two days later, the UK government reported that Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai during his visit to China.
These are welcome steps, and we urge the British government to continue calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai. We also ask the Foreign Secretary to urgently respond to multiple meeting requests from Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai. Sebastien met with former Foreign Secretary David Cameron in December 2023.
Mr Lai founded the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, the largest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. Mr Lai has already served several prison sentences on multiple charges, including 13 months for lighting a candle and saying a prayer at a vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. He now faces three charges under the Beijing-imposed Hong Kong National Security Law which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, and one charge for “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” under the colonial-era sedition law. His trial began on 18 December 2023 and is expected to resume on 20 November 2024.