Jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) trial under Hong Kong’s National Security Law was yesterday delayed, as the Hong Kong government asked Beijing to bar Lai from being represented by a British lawyer.
Lai and several executives from the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper are being prosecuted for “colluding with foreign forces,” an offense under the law imposed on the territory after huge pro-democracy protests in 2019.
After local courts said that London-based lawyer Tim Owen could represent Lai, Hong Kong’s leader asked China’s top lawmaking body to decide whether overseas lawyers could participate in national security cases.
Photo: Bloomberg
The trial was set to start yesterday, but was adjourned to Tuesday for prosecutors to come up with a new timetable, pending any instructions from Beijing.
Defense lawyers also said that Hong Kong immigration authorities had “withheld the extension” of Owen’s work visa without disclosing a reason.
Owen had been granted a visa as he was working on another Hong Kong case, the defense said, but did not specify when the visa will expire.
Photo: AP
Agence France-Presse has contacted the Hong Kong Immigration Department for comment.
Lawyers from common law jurisdictions are able to work within Hong Kong’s legal system, particularly in cases that might require their specific expertise.
Owen is a king’s counsel — a senior trial lawyer in the UK — and has previously worked on high-profile criminal cases in Hong Kong.
The government earlier argued in court that letting overseas lawyers work on national security cases posed a risk, as there was no way to ensure the confidentiality of state secrets.
When the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Monday sided against the government, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) said he would ask Beijing to intervene by issuing an “interpretation” of the National Security Law.
This was the first time Hong Kong invoked the mechanism under the law that allows Beijing to have the final say on how it operates.
Lai, 74, is one of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
He is already in jail for taking part in an illegal protest.
For years, the Apple Daily was scathing in its criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and openly supportive of democracy.
It collapsed last year after its funds were frozen under the National Security Law and many of its senior staff were charged alongside Lai, primarily for their campaigning for international sanctions against China.
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