Lai case attacks 'put pressure on judiciary'

Wallis Wang

Five council members of the Law Society of Hong Kong have criticized a People's Daily commentary on Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's bail, saying it could be seen as an attempt to interfere with Hong Kong's judicial independence.

The commentary, published on Sunday, said Lai's bail granted by a high court was ridiculous, and the "notoriously dangerous man" should be sent to the mainland for trial.

The five - Mark Daly, Kenneth Lam, Janet Pang Ho-yan, Michelle Tsoi Wing-tak and Davyd Wong - issued a joint statement in their individual capacities on the eve of the court of final appeal hearing on the government's appeal against Lai's bail. The lawyers said the commentary, which was published days before the hearing, was particularly worrying.

They said "the commentary could be perceived as putting pressure on the judiciary to decide a pending case in a particular manner, which breaches the subjudice rule and could prejudice the accused's right to a fair trial."

The lawyers added that the attacks on the judiciary should cease immediately, as those ungrounded and unwarranted accusations could pose a serious threat to the rule of law in the SAR.

"Whilst members of the public have the right to discuss and comment on court rulings for reasons grounded on fact or law, such discussions should not cross into bare assertions, imputations of political bias, or attempts to put pressure on the judiciary to decide specific cases in a particular manner," they said.

"Otherwise, public confidence in the integrity, professionalism and independence of the judiciary would be seriously undermined."

The lawyers called on Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah to take action to defend the judiciary against the accusations from state-run media. But they emphasized that anything said in the statement is their personal opinion, and does not represent the views of the Law Society, which has more than 12,000 members.

The five lawyers also expressed concerns over suggestions in the commentary that Lai's case should be taken over by mainland authorities by invoking Article 55 of the national security law.

The article allows the Office for Safeguarding National Security to intervene in certain cases if foreign intervention is involved and the Hong Kong government cannot enforce the national security law effectively.

"We question whether China has adequate protection on the right to fair trial during the criminal process, as mainland China has not ratified the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and has been long criticized on such," they said.