#FirstHand #GoHKInterview #Mar1
"Jail First, Trial Later": Ex-Lawmaker in Hong Kong Blasts National Security Trial for Lack of Due Process
1800 | West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts
Watch video:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28863
On the early evening of March 1, 2021, former lawmaker #LeeCheukYan talked to reporters outside the court, as he was waiting for the updates on the court hearing of the 47 pro-democracy activists on trial under the #NationalSecurityLaw, along with many supporters at the scene.
It was revealed in the day's court proceedings that the prosecution had not yet finished their investigations, even though the case is already being brought to court.
Lee criticized the lack of due process under the draconian law, and called the government's tactics "dirty and self-contradicting".
"The authorities clumsily arrest all these people before they got their evidence together. Now that they're not ready for the trial, they wouldn't grant them bail. But this is how Hong Kong's law is like now," Lee said.
"The government is even wasting the judge's time," Lee added sympathetically, in reference to the prosecution asking to delay the case for another two months until May 2021.
"Worse yet, after all this charade, they might still not grant us bail. Then our defendants would end up jailed without trial for months," Lee pointed out.
When asked about the eight activists who were arrested together with the 47 but were not charged today, Lee says that the government's choice not to prosecute them seems intended to instigate divisions within the pro-democracy camp.
However, it only made their arrest even more ridiculous: "They don't even have evidence for the 47 they charged today, let alone the eight." Even so, Lee said, the government showed its intent to first keep the 47 pro-democracy activists and politicians behind bars for some time. "You simply don't know when they'll be free. The whole thing is ridiculous."
=====
More first-hand interviews from the same day:
Pro-democracy Activist #FigoChan: I Am Sure We Won't Give Up
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28861
#Court #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliceState #47Democrats #PoliticalPersecution #Injustice #HumanitarianCrisis #RuleByLaw
"Jail First, Trial Later": Ex-Lawmaker in Hong Kong Blasts National Security Trial for Lack of Due Process
1800 | West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts
Watch video:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28863
On the early evening of March 1, 2021, former lawmaker #LeeCheukYan talked to reporters outside the court, as he was waiting for the updates on the court hearing of the 47 pro-democracy activists on trial under the #NationalSecurityLaw, along with many supporters at the scene.
It was revealed in the day's court proceedings that the prosecution had not yet finished their investigations, even though the case is already being brought to court.
Lee criticized the lack of due process under the draconian law, and called the government's tactics "dirty and self-contradicting".
"The authorities clumsily arrest all these people before they got their evidence together. Now that they're not ready for the trial, they wouldn't grant them bail. But this is how Hong Kong's law is like now," Lee said.
"The government is even wasting the judge's time," Lee added sympathetically, in reference to the prosecution asking to delay the case for another two months until May 2021.
"Worse yet, after all this charade, they might still not grant us bail. Then our defendants would end up jailed without trial for months," Lee pointed out.
When asked about the eight activists who were arrested together with the 47 but were not charged today, Lee says that the government's choice not to prosecute them seems intended to instigate divisions within the pro-democracy camp.
However, it only made their arrest even more ridiculous: "They don't even have evidence for the 47 they charged today, let alone the eight." Even so, Lee said, the government showed its intent to first keep the 47 pro-democracy activists and politicians behind bars for some time. "You simply don't know when they'll be free. The whole thing is ridiculous."
=====
More first-hand interviews from the same day:
Pro-democracy Activist #FigoChan: I Am Sure We Won't Give Up
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28861
#Court #PoliticalPrisoners #PoliceState #47Democrats #PoliticalPersecution #Injustice #HumanitarianCrisis #RuleByLaw
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📡Guardians of Hong Kong
#FirstHand #Mar1
#FirstHand #GoHKInterview #Mar1
"Jail First, Trial Later": Ex-Lawmaker in Hong Kong Blasts National Security Trial for Lack of Due Process
Read our English Transcript here:
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https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28864
#FirstHand #GoHKInterview #Mar1
"Jail First, Trial Later": Ex-Lawmaker in Hong Kong Blasts National Security Trial for Lack of Due Process
Read our English Transcript here:
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28864
#Court #RulebyLaw
Second Conviction for Inciting Secession: A Young Man Chanting Pro-Democracy Slogans in Public
#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #SpeechCrime #MaChunMan #Suppression
Source: Stand News; #Oct25
Read more
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Second Conviction for Inciting Secession: A Young Man Chanting Pro-Democracy Slogans in Public
#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #SpeechCrime #MaChunMan #Suppression
Source: Stand News; #Oct25
Read more
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#Court #RulebyLaw
Second Conviction for Inciting Secession: A Young Man Chanting Pro-Democracy Slogans in Public
Ma Chun-man, a prominent pro-democracy protester nicknamed "Captain America 2.0", was found guilty in a District Court on October 25 for inciting secession by chanting and displaying protest slogans.
District Judge Stanley Chan ruled that Ma “continuously and unreservedly” incited others to do what was prohibited under the national security law, using slogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”, “One nation, one Hong Kong” and “Hong Kong independence, the only way out".
“The defendant’s words were not empty talk, but a sincere and heartfelt expression of his beliefs and feelings,” said Chan, who is among a list of judges hand-picked by Hong Kong’s leader to oversee national security cases.
Ma was the second person convicted under the National Security Law, after #TongYingKit who was sentenced to nine years in prison after he rode a motorbike through police blockades while flying a flag with a protest slogan.
#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #SpeechCrime #MaChunMan #Suppression
Source: Stand News; #Oct25
https://thestandnews.page.link/SwoUvZf3rH3kyQWw5
Second Conviction for Inciting Secession: A Young Man Chanting Pro-Democracy Slogans in Public
Ma Chun-man, a prominent pro-democracy protester nicknamed "Captain America 2.0", was found guilty in a District Court on October 25 for inciting secession by chanting and displaying protest slogans.
District Judge Stanley Chan ruled that Ma “continuously and unreservedly” incited others to do what was prohibited under the national security law, using slogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times”, “One nation, one Hong Kong” and “Hong Kong independence, the only way out".
“The defendant’s words were not empty talk, but a sincere and heartfelt expression of his beliefs and feelings,” said Chan, who is among a list of judges hand-picked by Hong Kong’s leader to oversee national security cases.
Ma was the second person convicted under the National Security Law, after #TongYingKit who was sentenced to nine years in prison after he rode a motorbike through police blockades while flying a flag with a protest slogan.
#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #SpeechCrime #MaChunMan #Suppression
Source: Stand News; #Oct25
https://thestandnews.page.link/SwoUvZf3rH3kyQWw5
立場新聞 Stand News
第二宗國安法案 「美隊 2.0」馬俊文煽動分裂國家罪成 11.11 判刑 | 立場報道 | 立場新聞
（報道在下午 7 時 15 分更新）有「第二代美國隊長」之稱的馬俊文，被指於 2020 年間多次在示威活動中叫...
#Court #RulebyLaw
Catch-22: Authority Rejects Reference Books Sent to Activist Lawyer Detained for Subversion, Due to Content about Subversion
#TonyeeChow #NSL #PrisonerRights #HongKongAlliance #HKASPDMC #June4th #TiananmenMassacre #SzetoWah
Source: Stand News #Oct23
Read more
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Catch-22: Authority Rejects Reference Books Sent to Activist Lawyer Detained for Subversion, Due to Content about Subversion
#TonyeeChow #NSL #PrisonerRights #HongKongAlliance #HKASPDMC #June4th #TiananmenMassacre #SzetoWah
Source: Stand News #Oct23
Read more
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#Court #RulebyLaw
Catch-22: Authority Rejects Reference Books Sent to Activist Lawyer Detained for Subversion, Due to Content about Subversion
Tonyee #ChowHangTung, the former vice-chairperson of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (#HKASPDMC), is in detention on charges of inciting subversion of state power. A lawyer by trade, she intends to represent herself in her upcoming trial, and is preparing her own defense while in custody.
In an article on her Patreon published on October 23, she mentioned that her relatives and friends recently tried to send books about the late activist Szeto Wah and the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, but the Hong Kong Correctional Services (#HKCS) rejected them.
(Editor's note: Szeto Wah was the founder of the Hong Kong Alliance (#HKA) and was one of the most influential activists in Hong Kong who worked for decades to establish, preserve and protect Hong Kong people's democratic institutions, freedom and human rights.)
One of the books, she quoted an HKCS staff, "mentions behaviours of subverting state power". The decision could not be appealed, the staff added.
Chow questions whether the HKCS had assumed the role of the judge, making a fair trial impossible. The books are reference materials for her to prepare for her own defense in the trial, she said.
"If I can't have access to information about the Alliance and the June 4th incident, I would have no chance to find evidence to refute these accusations."
The Correctional Services have set up a perfect catch-22, she said of the arrangement. "This would guarantee the prosecution a win."
Source: Stand News #Oct23
https://thestandnews.page.link/Xwr8mUcpXtD6Q2MGA
#TonyeeChow #NSL #PrisonerRights #HongKongAlliance #HKASPDMC #June4th #TiananmenMassacre #SzetoWah
Catch-22: Authority Rejects Reference Books Sent to Activist Lawyer Detained for Subversion, Due to Content about Subversion
Tonyee #ChowHangTung, the former vice-chairperson of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (#HKASPDMC), is in detention on charges of inciting subversion of state power. A lawyer by trade, she intends to represent herself in her upcoming trial, and is preparing her own defense while in custody.
In an article on her Patreon published on October 23, she mentioned that her relatives and friends recently tried to send books about the late activist Szeto Wah and the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989, but the Hong Kong Correctional Services (#HKCS) rejected them.
(Editor's note: Szeto Wah was the founder of the Hong Kong Alliance (#HKA) and was one of the most influential activists in Hong Kong who worked for decades to establish, preserve and protect Hong Kong people's democratic institutions, freedom and human rights.)
One of the books, she quoted an HKCS staff, "mentions behaviours of subverting state power". The decision could not be appealed, the staff added.
Chow questions whether the HKCS had assumed the role of the judge, making a fair trial impossible. The books are reference materials for her to prepare for her own defense in the trial, she said.
"If I can't have access to information about the Alliance and the June 4th incident, I would have no chance to find evidence to refute these accusations."
The Correctional Services have set up a perfect catch-22, she said of the arrangement. "This would guarantee the prosecution a win."
Source: Stand News #Oct23
https://thestandnews.page.link/Xwr8mUcpXtD6Q2MGA
#TonyeeChow #NSL #PrisonerRights #HongKongAlliance #HKASPDMC #June4th #TiananmenMassacre #SzetoWah
#RuleByLaw
Hong Kong pro-democracy defendants face much heavier sentences than before 2019 protests
#RuleofLaw #PoliceState #FailedState
Source: Stand News, #Nov14
Read more
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Hong Kong pro-democracy defendants face much heavier sentences than before 2019 protests
#RuleofLaw #PoliceState #FailedState
Source: Stand News, #Nov14
Read more
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#RuleByLaw
Hong Kong pro-democracy defendants face much heavier sentences than before 2019 protests
Since outbreak of the anti-ELAB movement in Hong Kong in 2019, over 2,000 citizens have been convicted for their involvement in pro-democracy protests.
Stand News, a local newspaper consolidated relevant public data from June 2019 through November 2021, which showed a total of 34 people being charged over "behaving in disorderly manner in public places".
Among them, 8 (24%) were accused of obstructing road; another 8 (24%) being charged over hurling objects, while the remaining 18 (52%) were found guilty for making noises (swearling, chanting protest slogans, or hurling insults at Hong Kong Police). These cases saw a high conviction rate exceeding 60%.
With regards to sentencing, a large proportion of nearly 60% (12 people) of those being convicted were imprisoned for a period ranging from 3 weeks to 7 months.
Another 5% of the defendants were sent to the Correctional Services' training centers. The rest faced lighter penalties such as signing bind-over orders for conduct and probation (14%); and community service orders (24%).
In comparison, most convicts in cases of similar nature in the past were not sentenced to jail.
A legal professional group in Hong Kong explained that in the past, only some defendants with criminal records would likely be put behind bars.
However, in recent cases, even first offenders are often imprisoned.
The group added that this showed the court's intention to deploy heavier penalties against defendants from the pro-democracy movement, particularly for cases under Public Order Ordinance, as deterrence.
#RuleofLaw #RuleByLaw #PoliceState #FailedState
Source: Stand News, #Nov14
https://thestandnews.page.link/kZ66FKVG9sBLL9pA6
Hong Kong pro-democracy defendants face much heavier sentences than before 2019 protests
Since outbreak of the anti-ELAB movement in Hong Kong in 2019, over 2,000 citizens have been convicted for their involvement in pro-democracy protests.
Stand News, a local newspaper consolidated relevant public data from June 2019 through November 2021, which showed a total of 34 people being charged over "behaving in disorderly manner in public places".
Among them, 8 (24%) were accused of obstructing road; another 8 (24%) being charged over hurling objects, while the remaining 18 (52%) were found guilty for making noises (swearling, chanting protest slogans, or hurling insults at Hong Kong Police). These cases saw a high conviction rate exceeding 60%.
With regards to sentencing, a large proportion of nearly 60% (12 people) of those being convicted were imprisoned for a period ranging from 3 weeks to 7 months.
Another 5% of the defendants were sent to the Correctional Services' training centers. The rest faced lighter penalties such as signing bind-over orders for conduct and probation (14%); and community service orders (24%).
In comparison, most convicts in cases of similar nature in the past were not sentenced to jail.
A legal professional group in Hong Kong explained that in the past, only some defendants with criminal records would likely be put behind bars.
However, in recent cases, even first offenders are often imprisoned.
The group added that this showed the court's intention to deploy heavier penalties against defendants from the pro-democracy movement, particularly for cases under Public Order Ordinance, as deterrence.
#RuleofLaw #RuleByLaw #PoliceState #FailedState
Source: Stand News, #Nov14
https://thestandnews.page.link/kZ66FKVG9sBLL9pA6
#Censorship #RulebyLaw
Hong Kong’s top court applies stringent #NationalSecurityLaw bail requirement to general Crimes Ordinance
Source: inmediahk; #Dec14
Read more
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Hong Kong’s top court applies stringent #NationalSecurityLaw bail requirement to general Crimes Ordinance
Source: inmediahk; #Dec14
Read more
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#Censorship #RulebyLaw
Hong Kong’s top court applies stringent #NationalSecurityLaw bail requirement to general Crimes Ordinance
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has rejected an application to challenge a lower court’s bail refusal to a speech therapist, who was accused of publishing "seditious" children’s books about sheep and wolves.
Speech therapists Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung Yat-yee, Sidney Ng Hau-yi, Samuel Chan Yuen-sum and Marco Fong Tsz-ho were arrested by Hong Kong national security police in July, 2021. They are accused of conspiring with Wong Hoi-ching, another member of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, in printing, publishing, and distributing three children’s books, Guardians of the Sheep Village, 12 Warriors of the Sheep Village, and Dustman of the Sheep Village.
The were accused of intending to “bring into hatred of contempt or to excite disaffection” against the Hong Kong government and “the administration of justice in Hong Kong.”
They were charged with two counts of conspiring to publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, a breach of a colonial-era law under the Crimes Ordinance, and were denied bail.
Ng, one of the five defendants, took the case up to the Court of Final Appeal seeking leave to challenge the lower courts’ decisions.
Defence counsel Hectar Pun argued that the five defendants are facing charges under Section 10 of the Crimes Ordinance and not the National Security Law, and therefore the stricter threshold for granting bail should not apply.
Prosecutors argued that the Court of Final Appeal had ruled that sedition is considered an act that endangers national security. Violations of the Crimes Ordinance with relevance to the national security law may also endanger national security.
#FreedomOfSpeech #SheepVillage #RedLine #NationalSecurityLaw #ThoughtPolice #Children #sedition
Source: inmediahk; #Dec14
https://bit.ly/325iVU0
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Related News
HK National Security Police cracks down even Speech Therapists over children’s books
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30705
Hong Kong’s top court applies stringent #NationalSecurityLaw bail requirement to general Crimes Ordinance
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has rejected an application to challenge a lower court’s bail refusal to a speech therapist, who was accused of publishing "seditious" children’s books about sheep and wolves.
Speech therapists Lai Man-ling, Melody Yeung Yat-yee, Sidney Ng Hau-yi, Samuel Chan Yuen-sum and Marco Fong Tsz-ho were arrested by Hong Kong national security police in July, 2021. They are accused of conspiring with Wong Hoi-ching, another member of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, in printing, publishing, and distributing three children’s books, Guardians of the Sheep Village, 12 Warriors of the Sheep Village, and Dustman of the Sheep Village.
The were accused of intending to “bring into hatred of contempt or to excite disaffection” against the Hong Kong government and “the administration of justice in Hong Kong.”
They were charged with two counts of conspiring to publish, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, a breach of a colonial-era law under the Crimes Ordinance, and were denied bail.
Ng, one of the five defendants, took the case up to the Court of Final Appeal seeking leave to challenge the lower courts’ decisions.
Defence counsel Hectar Pun argued that the five defendants are facing charges under Section 10 of the Crimes Ordinance and not the National Security Law, and therefore the stricter threshold for granting bail should not apply.
Prosecutors argued that the Court of Final Appeal had ruled that sedition is considered an act that endangers national security. Violations of the Crimes Ordinance with relevance to the national security law may also endanger national security.
#FreedomOfSpeech #SheepVillage #RedLine #NationalSecurityLaw #ThoughtPolice #Children #sedition
Source: inmediahk; #Dec14
https://bit.ly/325iVU0
====
Related News
HK National Security Police cracks down even Speech Therapists over children’s books
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/30705
#Court #RulebyLaw
First Hong Kong pro-democracy activist jailed under #NationalSecurityLaw drops appeal citing disappointment in assigned legal representatives
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist #TongYingKit, the first person jailed under the national security law for inciting secession and committing terrorist acts, has withdrawn his appeal against his conviction and nine-year sentence on January 12, 2022.
Sources cited reasons for Tong's withdrawal as he was unable to trust the assigned legal representatives by Legal Aid Department.
During the November hearing in 2021, Tong was represented by a new solicitors’ firm founded by Vincent To, a former member of the Shenzhen committee of Beijing’s political advisory body.
The representation was assigned by the Legal Aid Department, which saw a recent administrative revamp including assigning lawyers to legal aid applicants rather than allowing them to pick who represents them.
#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #PoliceState
Sources: Cable News, HKFP; #Jan12
First Hong Kong pro-democracy activist jailed under #NationalSecurityLaw drops appeal citing disappointment in assigned legal representatives
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist #TongYingKit, the first person jailed under the national security law for inciting secession and committing terrorist acts, has withdrawn his appeal against his conviction and nine-year sentence on January 12, 2022.
Sources cited reasons for Tong's withdrawal as he was unable to trust the assigned legal representatives by Legal Aid Department.
During the November hearing in 2021, Tong was represented by a new solicitors’ firm founded by Vincent To, a former member of the Shenzhen committee of Beijing’s political advisory body.
The representation was assigned by the Legal Aid Department, which saw a recent administrative revamp including assigning lawyers to legal aid applicants rather than allowing them to pick who represents them.
#NationalSecurityLaw #NSL #PoliceState
Sources: Cable News, HKFP; #Jan12
Female Long Hair accused of incitement for carrying an elegiac poem that mourns the 10th year of Lamma IV ferry accident
Lui Yuk-Lin, also known as "Female Long-hair", who had witnessed the salvage process of the #LammaIV, mourned at the Central Ferry Pier No.4 (the pier for Lamma Island). She placed 39 sets of flowers, fruits, and cakes on the floor, along with an elegiac couplet "Hope to be reborn on the Pure Land, with the best lotus as their parents (九品蓮華為父母，願生西方淨土中)."**
At 8:24 pm, the moment of the collision, Lui stood silent for 10 minutes, then prayed walking. It suddenly started to rain heavily, but she insisted on kneeling to complete the memorial, despite being thoroughly soaked.
Before the mourning memorial, more than 10 police officers patrolled the pier, warning the surrounding people of the social distancing measure (which restrict group gathering with more than 4 persons) and dismissing surrounding citizens.
Lui told InMedia, after the silent prayer, that police had warned her of incitement for bringing an elegiac poem since her arrival at 3 pm. "I was speechless - how to incite? Weren't someone lost their life in this accident?" The officer then gave no more warning.
A 12-year-old child came mourning with his mother, bringing flowers, snacks, and two pieces of paper with words like "yet to be revealed (沉冤未雪)". He said he was only two at the time of the incident but knew that there were children who died, so he brought some snacks, including cookies, crisps, and snacks for the dead. "Hope they rest in peace," he said.
[**Editor note: A kind of Buddism elegiac couplet common among traditional Chinese believers]
#LuiYukLin #FemaleLongHair #LammaIV #Incitement #RuleByLaw
Source: InMedia #Oct03
https://bit.ly/3ft0leZ
Lui Yuk-Lin, also known as "Female Long-hair", who had witnessed the salvage process of the #LammaIV, mourned at the Central Ferry Pier No.4 (the pier for Lamma Island). She placed 39 sets of flowers, fruits, and cakes on the floor, along with an elegiac couplet "Hope to be reborn on the Pure Land, with the best lotus as their parents (九品蓮華為父母，願生西方淨土中)."**
At 8:24 pm, the moment of the collision, Lui stood silent for 10 minutes, then prayed walking. It suddenly started to rain heavily, but she insisted on kneeling to complete the memorial, despite being thoroughly soaked.
Before the mourning memorial, more than 10 police officers patrolled the pier, warning the surrounding people of the social distancing measure (which restrict group gathering with more than 4 persons) and dismissing surrounding citizens.
Lui told InMedia, after the silent prayer, that police had warned her of incitement for bringing an elegiac poem since her arrival at 3 pm. "I was speechless - how to incite? Weren't someone lost their life in this accident?" The officer then gave no more warning.
A 12-year-old child came mourning with his mother, bringing flowers, snacks, and two pieces of paper with words like "yet to be revealed (沉冤未雪)". He said he was only two at the time of the incident but knew that there were children who died, so he brought some snacks, including cookies, crisps, and snacks for the dead. "Hope they rest in peace," he said.
[**Editor note: A kind of Buddism elegiac couplet common among traditional Chinese believers]
#LuiYukLin #FemaleLongHair #LammaIV #Incitement #RuleByLaw
Source: InMedia #Oct03
https://bit.ly/3ft0leZ