Lawyers representing some of the Hong Kongers captured by the Chinese coast guard as they allegedly tried to flee the territory by speedboat yesterday said that they have been denied access to their clients.
Mainland authorities announced that a group of 12 Hong Kongers were on Aug. 23 intercepted about 70km southeast of the territory trying to escape by boat, and were handed over to police in neighboring Shenzhen.
They have since disappeared into China’s opaque judicial system.
Neither mainland nor Hong Kong authorities have publicly confirmed who has been arrested, but Hong Kong media — including a pro-Beijing newspaper — have identified some of those on board, while relatives of those detained have also come forward.
Some of those identified as being on the speedboat were facing prosecution for involvement in pro-democracy protests last year. One man — Andy Li (李宇軒) — was arrested under new security legislation Beijing imposed on Hong Kong. Another is a dual national with Hong Kong and Portuguese citizenship.
Two mainland-based lawyers said that they had tried and failed to visit their clients after being instructed by family members.
“They said I can’t prove that the instructions I have came from family members even though I have provided my client’s birth certificate issued in Hong Kong,” said Ren Quanniu (任全牛), a lawyer who traveled nearly 1,500km from central China to Shenzhen.
He also visited the police officer in charge of the case, who refused to receive legal documents — including a written request for his client Wong Wai-yin (黃偉然) to be handed back to Hong Kong jurisdiction, Ren said.
He then filed a complaint with prosecutors in Shenzhen, he added.
Lu Siwei (盧思位), another lawyer, said he had a similar experience when he tried to visit his client in detention last week.
Shenzhen police were treating the case as an “illegal border crossing,” an offence that carries up to a year in jail, Ren and Lu said.
However, Lu said that police informed him some of the detained might also face the more serious charges of “organizing others to cross the border illegally,” which carries sentences up to life in jail.
Ren said that other lawyers he knew were representing the arrestees were also being denied access.
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