Court case of 47 Hong Kong democracy activists to resume on 8 July
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Court case of 47 Hong Kong democracy activists to resume on 8 July

South Asia

Reuters
31 May, 2021, 05:30 pm
Last modified: 31 May, 2021, 05:33 pm

Related News

  • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge
  • Hong Kong police arrest Catholic cardinal, a democratic advocate
  • China says G7 concern over Hong Kong leader selection is interference
  • Hong Kong's next leader endorsed by pro-Beijing elites
  • Hong Kong zero-Covid policies create mountains of plastic waste

Court case of 47 Hong Kong democracy activists to resume on 8 July

Defendants will receive evidence against them before 28 June and they can make a plea at their next appearance in the West Kowloon Court

Reuters
31 May, 2021, 05:30 pm
Last modified: 31 May, 2021, 05:33 pm
Pro-democracy activist Lester Shum is taken away by police officers as more than 50 Hong Kong activists are arrested under a security law in Hong Kong, China January 6, 2021. Picture taken January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer
Pro-democracy activist Lester Shum is taken away by police officers as more than 50 Hong Kong activists are arrested under a security law in Hong Kong, China January 6, 2021. Picture taken January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

The widely-monitored national security case of 47 Hong Kong opposition figures charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, most of whom have been in custody for the past three months, will resume on July 8, a judge ruled on Monday.

Defendants will receive evidence against them before June 28 and they can make a plea at their next appearance in the West Kowloon Court. The case may then be moved to the High Court, which has the power to give longer sentences.

Some lawyers argued defendants could not be expected to make a plea so soon, given the national security law was new to the city and it would therefore take longer than usual to analyse the evidence. Judge Victor So dismissed the request.

"Seven days is the law," So said, referring to the deadline given to the prosecution to present the evidence.

The 47, most of whom have been denied bail, were arrested on charges of participating in an unofficial, non-binding and independently organised primary vote last year to select candidates for a since-postponed city election, which authorities say was a "vicious plot" to subvert the government.

Around a hundred supporters gathered outside the court, waving smartphone flashlights and chanting "Hong Kongers hang in there."

"I want to tell my friends among the 47 that they don't need to worry, as many are determined to fight on," activist Jerry Yuen said outside the court.

The charges against the activists, many of whom have announced their retirement from politics, are punishable with up to life in prison.

Diplomats and rights groups are closely watching the case amid mounting concerns over the independence of the former British colony's judicial system, that is seen as the foundation on which its financial prowess was built.

Marathon bail hearings in March lasted four days and dragged late into the night, causing several defendants to fall ill and seek hospital treatment. Most of the subsequent appeals for bail have been denied.

On Friday, High Court Judge Esther Toh denied former lawmaker Claudia Mo's bail application, citing, among other reasons, her WhatsApp messages with foreign journalists, commenting on news.

In denying bail in mid-March to Jeremy Tam, another former lawmaker, Toh cited an email he received from the U.S. Consulate where he was invited to "catch up." His lawyers said he never replied.

Ten of the defendants are expected to apply for bail again on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The security law sets a high threshold for defendants seeking bail to demonstrate they would not break the law, a departure from common law practice, which puts the onus on prosecutors to make their case for detention as an exception.

The protracted hearings and the reasons for rejecting bail have stunned diplomats and rights groups, who see it as a dramatic display of the Chinese-ruled city's authoritarian turn.

hong kong

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Photo: Noor-A-Alam
    How fixed rate regime makes Bangladesh Bank’s monetary tools ineffective
  • A labourer carries a sack filled with sugar to load it onto a supply truck at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    India restricts sugar exports at 10 million tonnes
  • British International Investment (BII) CEO Nick O’Donohoe. Illustration: TBS
    BII to invest $450m in Bangladesh in 5 years

MOST VIEWED

  • A labourer carries a sack filled with sugar to load it onto a supply truck at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri
    India restricts sugar exports at 10 million tonnes
  • Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, May 24, 2022. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
    Sri Lanka's prime minister says he will slash expenditure in new budget
  • Prime Minister Imran Khan speaks at the Islamabad Security Dialogue on Friday. — PID
    Pakistan bans ousted PM Khan's protest march after policeman killed
  • A man paints the logo of oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) on a wall on the outskirts of Kochi, India, November 21, 2019. Reuters/Sivaram V
    Indian oil minister says oil at $110 a barrel not sustainable
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden in Tokyo on Tuesday. (ANI Photo/PIB)
    Modi, Biden stress on ‘strategic partnership based on trust’ at Japan meet
  • FILE PHOTO: Flood-affected people stand on a road damaged by the flood waters after heavy rains in Nagaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, India May 19, 2022. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika
    Floods kill 25 in India's Assam, displace thousands

Related News

  • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge
  • Hong Kong police arrest Catholic cardinal, a democratic advocate
  • China says G7 concern over Hong Kong leader selection is interference
  • Hong Kong's next leader endorsed by pro-Beijing elites
  • Hong Kong zero-Covid policies create mountains of plastic waste

Features

Underlying problems such as school dropouts need to be addressed first before taking a legal route to stop child labour. Photo: Reuters

‘Child labour in a country like Bangladesh is primarily a development issue, not so much of enforcement’

36m | Panorama
The balcony railings of the Boro Sardar Bari in Sonargaon. Made of cast iron, these railings feature vertical posts with intricate designs on top. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

The evolution of railing and grille designs

23h | Habitat
A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

1d | Analysis
Musk is denying the sexual harassment allegation that surfaced this week. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s crazily banal week 

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

When is the right time to invest?

When is the right time to invest?

46m | Videos
Bangladesh Bank relaxes rules to deal with dollar crisis

Bangladesh Bank relaxes rules to deal with dollar crisis

13h | Videos
Russia claims use of laser weapons, Ukraine denies

Russia claims use of laser weapons, Ukraine denies

14h | Videos
Celebrity Gallery in Rajshahi like Madame Tussauds

Celebrity Gallery in Rajshahi like Madame Tussauds

15h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

5
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

6
Illustration: TBS
Banking

Let taka slide

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab