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HONG KONG (REUTERS) – Hong Kong’s high court ordered media mogul Jimmy Lai, the highest-profile person charged under the city’s national security law, to be re-detained on Thursday (December 31) , saying that a judge may have made a mistake decision to release him on bail.
The Final Appeal Court ruling comes a week after Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most prominent democracy activists accused of conspiring with foreign forces, was released on Hong Kong $ 10 million bail (1 , 7 million Singapore dollars) along with extensive restrictions including banning him from access using social media.
Lai, 73, was in court. He was not immediately available for comment after the ruling, but must return to court on February 1 for another appeal hearing regarding his bond, the court said.
Beijing imposed national security legislation on the former British colony in June after months of pro-democracy protests. Critics say it aims to crush dissent and erode freedoms in the semi-autonomous city ruled by China, accusations that Hong Kong and Chinese authorities reject.
Lai, a Beijing critic who had visited Washington frequently, is believed to be a target of the new legislation. Prosecutors have accused him of violating the security law for statements he made on July 30 and August 18, in which they allege that he requested foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs.
In the previous ruling on bail, a Superior Court judge said Lai’s comments appeared to be “comments and criticism” rather than a request for interference.
But on Thursday, the judges questioned that earlier assessment. “We consider it reasonably debatable in the present case that the learned judge made a mistake,” the judges said in their ruling, referring to article 42 of the security law.
The article stipulates that “no bail shall be granted to a suspect or accused of a crime unless the judge has sufficient reason to believe that the suspect or accused will not continue to commit acts that endanger national security.”
Outgoing Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, Andrew Cheung, who succeeds Ma as the city’s highest-ranking judge in January, and Roberto Ribeiro presided over the hearing.
In an editorial published on December 27, the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily called Lai “extremely dangerous” and an “insurgent” and urged the Hong Kong judiciary to “make the right decision” on the bail appeal. .
Five people from the Hong Kong Law Society, which has more than 10,000 registered members, expressed “grave” concern over the comments and called on Attorney General Teresa Cheng to act to defend the judiciary against “unwarranted” allegations by state-controlled media.
Lai resigned earlier this week as president of Next Digital, which publishes Apple Daily, a popular tabloid newspaper known for its energetic and critical coverage of China and Hong Kong.
The security law, which has drawn strong condemnation from Western governments and human rights groups, punishes what Beijing broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life imprisonment.
Under the new law, it is the defendant’s responsibility to show that he would not be a threat to national security if released on bail. Under Hong Kong’s common law-based legal system, the prosecution has traditionally been responsible for proving your case.
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