His case is one step closer to court, although no date has been set for his trial to begin.
A court in the southern city of Shenzhen said in a statement on Wednesday that two members of the group had been charged with organizing illegal border crossings, while eight others had been charged with illegal border crossings. The remaining two, both minors, will be subject to a closed-door hearing and “will be decided in accordance with the law,” the statement said.
According to Chinese criminal law, those convicted of organizing illegal border crossings could face up to two to seven years in prison – and in serious cases, life imprisonment. The offense of crossing the border illegally carries a maximum imprisonment of one year. The conviction rate in China’s judicial system is about 99%, according to legal observers.
Shortly after they crossed the maritime border between Hong Kong and mainland China, their boat was intercepted by a coast guard guard.
They have since been detained in mainland China when their families took a hard line on their return, saying 12 people had been denied access to lawyers and abused while in Chinese custody.
Mainland officials have said they will “protect the legal rights of suspects in accordance with the law” and provide them with lawyers appointed by the government.
In the statement, the family members also raised the issue of arrangement of lawyers appointed by the government.
“Families cannot trust that ‘government-appointed lawyers’ protect the interests of the bar during hearings, and they fear that ‘government-appointed lawyers’ will comply with government orders and act against the bar’s interests,” the statement said.
The public prosecutor and the police, as well as the Chinese courts, are overseen by the powerful Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and its local branches.
This year, as protests resumed after the coronavirus forced ceasefire, the Chinese government imposed a national security law on Hong Kong, criminalizing treason, scattering and insurrection.
The law, which the government says is needed to restore order, has led many leading activists to flee abroad.
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