Hong Kong's justice minister has ordered a trial without jury in the biggest national security law case, where 47 people charged with '
conspiring to subvert
' face life imprisonment, according to documents consulted Tuesday, August 16 by AFP.
A certificate signed by the city's new justice secretary, Paul Lam, dated August 13, for the first time cites '
involvement of foreign elements
' as reason for deviating from tradition of central jury trial to common law, the judicial system inherited from the British.
Read alsoHong Kong: the European Union calls for the repeal of the national security law
This is the second time such a decision has been made in a case involving the national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020 to silence dissent after a wave of massive demonstrations and sometimes violent in favor of democracy.
The other two reasons cited by Paul Lam: “
the personal safety of jurors and their family members
” and “
the risk of influencing the course of justice if the trial takes place with a jury
”.
Instead of a jury, three judges hand-picked by the government will render their decision.
Trial by jury has been present in Hong Kong's common law legal system for 176 years.
The city's Justice Department still describes it today as one of the "
most important features
" of its justice system.
But the law on national security allows, in certain cases, to deviate from this principle, when it comes to state secrets or the involvement of foreign forces.
The 47 defendants in this case have very varied profiles.
Among them, representatives of the city's democratically elected Legislative Council, trade unionists, academics... Suspected of subversion, they risk life for having organized an unofficial election in July 2020.
Read alsoHong Kong: prison for “Mamie Wong”, figure of the pro-democracy demonstrations
At the end of July, the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Union demanded the repeal of the National Security Law and the Sedition Law imposed by China in Hong Kong and asked the territorial authorities to "
refrain from applying them
".
Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, countered that the law had instead brought stability and peace to the city, calling the UN body's criticism "
misguided
".
