Ex-governor Patten slammed for 'malicious slandering' of CFA judges ruling

Michael Shum and Eunice Lam

The SAR government has strongly condemned former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten for "exerting political pressure" on judges who dismissed the appeal of media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six other activists to overturn their conviction for taking part in an illegal assembly five years ago.

In a strongly-worded statement, the government slammed Patten for the "malicious slandering" against the Court of Final Appeal's judgment and his "wanton personal vilifications" against overseas non-permanent judge David Neuberger, who was one of the judges presiding over the adjudication of the appeal.

The government spokesman said Patten's criticisms against Neuberger were "completely groundless and unjustified personal attacks" aimed at smearing and slandering Neuberger's reputation, exposing Patten's "malicious attempt to undermine the system of non-permanent judges."

The spokesman stated that all judges in the cases had made "very detailed" legal analyses and explanations on the rulings in their judgments, placing them within a well-established framework for constitutional challenges in Hong Kong's jurisdiction.

The SAR government strongly condemned Patten's blatantly improper words and deeds, asserting that "no one can abusively criticize or slander judges, or make baseless allegations purely out of political motives."

This comes after the Court of Final Appeal on Monday dismissed the appeal of Jimmy Lai and six other activists over their participation in a rally in Victoria Park in August 2019. Lai and the six former lawmakers were originally sentenced to between eight to 18 months in prison by the District Court in 2021, though the Court of Appeal later partially overturned their convictions, resulting in reduced sentences.

The CFA judges unanimously rejected the defendants' appeal, stating that the UK court's approach of importing a proportionality analysis when considering a defense of reasonable excuse in public protest-related cases should not be followed in the SAR.They also rejected the defendants' attempt to overturn their "taking part" offense, calling their proposition "unsustainable" and "contrary to all established principles governing constitutional challenges in Hong Kong."