For Hong Kong’s arrested pro-democracy activists, justice must wait
Al JazeeraClosing arguments are due to begin in high-profile trial of 16 pro-democracy figures nearly three years after arrests. While the “Hong Kong 47” case is the largest national security case to date, drawn-out proceedings have become a feature of the city’s British-inherited legal system since the imposition of the national security law following anti-government protests in 2019. “There is also a tendency to deny bail pending trial in protest-related cases, stemming from a presumption against bail in the National Security Law which has also been applied to non-NSL cases.” Hong Kong’s courts are facing a growing shortage of judges, with nearly one in four judicial posts currently vacant amid complaints of low pay and a broader brain drain since the COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee has hinted that “significant national security trials” could one day move to Beijing if sanctions affect court proceedings. The Stand News verdict is not expected until next year as the court considers the impact of a UK Privy Council ruling over a separate sedition case in Trinidad and Tobago, another common law jurisdiction, which found sedition must include “an intention to incite violence or disorder.” Unlike other delays, the deferral in that case may be a rare glimmer of good news, according to Georgetown’s Lai, as it “shows that the local courts are still eager to respect the whole common law system”.