HK detains and deports press freedom group staffer from city: RSF

A representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF) was detained and deported from Hong Kong, the press freedom advocacy group said on Wednesday.

The staffer, Aleksandra Bielakowska, was detained and questioned for six hours upon arrival in Hong Kong, the group said in a statement.

Bielakowska and her belongings were searched three times according to the statement, before being put on a flight back to Taipei where she is based.

No specific reason was given for Bielakowska's expulsion, with only a "very vague notice of detention" issued according to RSF.

Bielakowska had been able to enter Hong Kong twice in 2023, the group added.

The deportation comes just weeks after Hong Kong enacted new national security laws known as Article 23, targeting crimes including foreign interference. The legislation also potentially tightens control over foreign political bodies and organisations operating in the city, through provisions defining "external forces" and outlawing "external interference".

Hong Kong authorities gave no immediate reply to a Reuters request for comment.

RSF said Bielakowska and the head of its Asia-Pacific bureau Cedric Alviani intended to meet journalists and diplomats, and monitor the ongoing national security trial of Jimmy Lai.

Alviani told Reuters he wasn't detained and questioned, but has now returned to Taiwan with Bielakowska.

"This action by the Hong Kong authorities, unprecedented for RSF, marks a new decline in the already poor press freedom climate in the territory," RSF said in a statement.

RSF ranked Hong Kong 140th out of 180 in its annual global media freedom index in 2023, down from 73 in 2019.

(Staff reporter and Reuters)