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Court refuses DOJ attempt to re-arrest acquitted protestors
In January 2023, the DOJ applied to court to re-arrest nine individuals who had already been tried and acquitted of unlawful assembly and riot charges. DOJ prosecutor Ivan Cheung sought the arrest warrants to prevent those individuals from leaving Hong Kong pending the prosecution’s appeal. The judge refused the warrants as these individuals had already…
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Court spectators jailed for sedition
As responsible lawyers, we read the latest sedition judgment (WKCC 928/2022, 27 Oct 2022) to consider the judge’s legal analysis before expressing outrage. Spoiler: there is only oppression charading as law. Note first off this case was in the lowest courts, the magistracy. Magistrate Cheng Nim-chi isn’t known for being a bright legal mind –…
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The 818 Protest and Trial
Today marks 3 years since over a million Hong Kongers took to the streets in the pouring rain to protest police brutality and government impunity. The trial that ensued was also one of the most significant (and eventful) to come out of the 2019 protests. By this time, the 5 demands had crystallized. On 721,…
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Leaps of logic in Keith Fong’s conviction for perverting justice
Mere speculation is reasonable suspicion, one possibility is beyond reasonable doubt. That’s the new standard.
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Five years for inciting secession: just what the prosecution ordered
The Hong Kong courts get to have their cake and eat it: they borrow the support of the most restrictive common law cases, while distinguishing liberal cases by claiming that the constitutional framework is different.