Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six former opposition lawmakers have lost a final appeal against their convictions over taking part in an illegal march during the 2019 anti-government protests.
The Court of Final Appeal on Monday refused to apply two British legal precedents cited by the appellants to overturn the convictions and jail sentences of the seven opposition figures, who included opposition veteran Martin Lee Chu-ming.
The five presiding judges also dismissed the appellants’ contention that their prosecution constituted an excessive restriction on their freedom of expression and assembly.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
The appeal centred on the seven’s roles in the mass demonstration that organisers had described as a “water flow assembly” at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on August 18, 2019.
The seven were all convicted in 2021 of organising and taking part in the banned march.
A District Court judge imposed jail sentences of eight to 18 months on Lai, who founded the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, and three former opposition lawmakers – Lee Cheuk-yan, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho Sau-lan.
Martin Lee and ex-legislators Albert Ho Chun-yan and Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee were given suspended jail sentences.
The Court of Appeal reduced the sentences of Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho after it quashed the organising charges, but they had completed their sentences by the time the verdict was delivered last year.
The top court earlier rejected a request by some of the appellants for a review of its landmark decision in 2005, which implicitly accepted the legality of unauthorised assembly offences.
A prosecution request to reinstate the conviction of the seven for organising the march was also refused by appeal court judges.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Jimmy Lai trial: Hong Kong tycoon loses bid for early discharge
- 3 Hong Kong judges in Jimmy Lai trial suggest it would be ‘premature’ to acquit mogul
For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2024.
