Hong Kong lawmakers and human rights activists yesterday called for the wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to be banned from the territory after she was granted diplomatic immunity over an alleged assault.
Grace Mugabe, 43, escaped prosecution for allegedly attacking British photographer Richard Jones, who took pictures of her on a shopping trip in January.
The ruling that she enjoyed diplomatic immunity was greeted with fury by some legislators and human rights activists who demanded a full explanation from the Department of Justice and urged it to ban Grace Mugabe from returning to the territory.
Jones, 42, claims he was repeatedly hit by Grace Mugabe in the Jan. 15 assault and left with cuts on his face from a diamond ring she was wearing.
Speaking on the government-run radio station RTHK, human rights activist Law Yuk-kai (羅沃啟) yesterday demanded a full explanation on why immunity was extended.
He questioned whether Grace Mugabe was entitled to immunity when on a private shopping visit to the territory, where her daughter Bona is a university student and she and her husband have reportedly bought a US$5 million home.
“We need to do something about it,” he said. “They [the Department of Justice] should give out what information they have in hand to the Hong Kong public,” he said.
Some legislators also called to ban Grace Mugabe from entering Hong Kong.
“Is there nothing we can do?” pro-democracy lawmaker Audrey Eu (余若薇) said in yesterday’s South China Morning Post. “Even though she has diplomatic immunity and cannot be arrested, at least we can refuse to let someone who has committed a crime in Hong Kong visit again.”
On Sunday, the Department of Justice cited China’s regulations on diplomatic immunity, saying they applied to Hong Kong as well.
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