Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai ordered to return to prison awaiting trial | Politics news

Lai is one of the top pro-democracy figures charged under China’s security law imposed on the territory on June 30.

Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai was ordered back in jail on Thursday after the territories’ highest court said a judge may have erred in allowing him on bail.

Lai, a vocal critic of the Beijing government, is one of the highest-profile figures charged under national security law China imposed on the territory in late June in a bid to quell dissent.

He was granted bail on December 23 after three weeks in custody on charges of fraud and endangering national security in a decision that was immediately appealed. The next hearing is on February 1.

Prosecutors have charged the 73-year-old with violating security law over statements he made on July 30 and August 18, in which they allege he sought foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs.

In his previous written trial, explaining his decision to grant parole, Supreme Court Judge Alex Lee said Lais’s remarks were nothing more than comments and criticism.

But on Thursday, judges questioned that assessment.

We consider it debatable in the present case that the knowledgeable judge may have erred, the judges said in their decision, referring to Article 42 of the security law.

The article stipulates that no conditional information is given to a criminal suspect or defendant unless the judge has sufficient reason to believe that the criminal suspect or defendant will not continue to commit acts that endanger national security.

A supporter of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai who was sent back to jail on Thursday [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]

Al Jazeera’s Adrian Brown, reporting from Hong Kong, said it was the first time the Hong Kong appeals court had ruled on a case involving the new national security law.

Many legal experts are saying the ruling does not mark the end of Hong Kong’s judicial independence, but its beginning to appear a bit shaky, Brown said.

The three judges who ruled Thursday are in Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lams approving the list of judges participating in national security issues, Brown said.

It is safe to say that Carrie Lam will be happy with today’s result, as well as her political masters in Beijing, he said.

Negative example

Lai, who was under effective house arrest as part of his conditional bail, left his home Thursday morning in a black Mercedes. He entered the Final Court of Appeals without making any comment to supporters and the media, many of whom took the mogul as he was entering the courtroom.

He was charged with fraud on December 3 for allegedly violating the lease of office space for Next Digital, the media company he founded but from which he resigned. He was charged again on December 12 under national security law and charged with collaborating with foreign forces.

A prison van arrives at the Final Court of Appeals to take Jimmy Lai to jail [Tyrone Siu/Reuters]

Political scientist Joseph Cheng says the whole process is being seen as a threat to the independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong.

Jimmy Lai was initially denied bail, then he appealed and was granted bail by the high court at this point, pro-Beijing media in Hong Kong harshly attacked the judges’ decision, Cheng told Al Jazeera.

It is generally seen that the final appellate court that made the decision was put under pressure from Beijing, he said.

The People’s Party controlled by the Daily People said in an editorial published on December 27 that Lai was extremely dangerous and an insurgent and urged the Hong Kong judiciary to make the right decision on the parole 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 Justice Secretary Teresa Cheng to take action to protect the judiciary against unjustified allegations by the state media. and China.

Lai is among a string of pro-democracy activists and supporters arrested by Hong Kong police in recent months as authorities step up their crackdown on dissent in China’s semi-autonomous territory.

His case is seen as a negative example trying to teach a lesson to the people of Hong Kong, Cheng added.