Hong Kong: Prosecution of opposition figures an unprecedented attack on human rights livenews.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from livenews.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Gruelling four-day hearing lasting into early hours, with one defendant fainting Â
âHong Kong civil society will not be silenced by repressionâ â Lam Cho Ming
A court in Hong Kong has denied bail to 32 out of 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists, in the biggest mass prosecution since the cityâs national security and criminal law came into effect last June.
In a case described by Amnesty International as âunprecedented attack on freedom of expression in Hong Kongâ, the pro-democracy figures are charged with âconspiracy to subversionâ over their organisation and participation in a self-proclaimed primary for last yearâs Legislative Council election, an event later postponed over COVID-19 fears.
28 December 2020, 08:04 UTC
Ahead of the trial of a group of Hong Kong residents detained in mainland China since attempting to leave Hong Kong by speedboat in August, Amnesty International Hong Kong’s Programme Manager Lam Cho Ming said:
“We fear that the chance of these young Hongkongers getting a fair trial in China is remote given they have so far been deprived of their basic rights, including the right to defend themselves through legal representation of their own choosing.
“Their families have repeatedly been denied direct access to them, and several mainland lawyers who have attempted to represent them at the families’ request have been threatened by the Chinese authorities to force them to drop the case.