One of the most important trial in the history of Hong Kong, a number of defendants fainted after more than 10 hours of interrogation, and some defendants did not see their lawyers before going to court.
After a long night, the trial started again on Tuesday (2) at about 12 o’clock and entered the second day of the trial. The first day of the trial, one of the most important in the history of Hong Kong, saw a number of defendants faint after more than 10 hours of interrogation, and some of them did not see their lawyers before going to court. Chinese rights lawyer Ren Quanniu said that all the defendants in the “12 Hong Kong people” case were able to meet with their lawyers before the trial. (Zheng Riyao reports)
Yesterday’s trial lasted nearly 15 hours, and the judge appointed by the National Security Law, President Judge Su Huide, insisted on an uninterrupted trial. Before the trial, several defendants have complained about not seeing a lawyer before going to court, He Guilan shouted in court: “I have not seen a lawyer before the trial”, “I demand to see a lawyer”. After appearing in court, Su Huide said that the defense would be given enough Time to postpone the trial until 3:30 p.m. because several defendants had not yet met with their lawyers.
On March 1, 2021, a member of the public was holding a proclamation saying “release political prisoners”, while a large number of police officers were standing by outside the courtroom. (File photo/Lee Chi Chi)
The defendants fainted one after another late into the night
But in fact, it was only the twelfth defendant’s turn to make a bail application until the early hours of the night, and the end of the day was nowhere in sight. One of the defendants, Yang Xueying, fainted in the courtroom, followed by three defendants, Lin Jingnan, Tan Kebang and Liang Guoxiong, who were also sent to hospital afterwards. Only then did So Wai Tak decide to adjourn the court, but in addition to the defendants who had been sent to the hospital, the other defendants had to be placed in the custody of the Correctional Services Department and sent to the remand Home.
The average rest period for the defendants was about 3-6 hours in the remand home. It is reported that Tai Yiu Ting slept for only one hour before he arrived at the High Court for his appeal hearing in the “Occupy Nine Sons” case.
Liu Yuan’s lawyer was arrested outside of court
In the evening, Mr. Yau, the lawyer representing Mr. Lau, was arrested for “obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty” and “failure to produce identification documents” when he refused to enter the courtroom with Mr. Lau’s father, who was preparing to act as a guarantor. He was later released by the police.
The former chairwoman of the Democratic Party, Emily Lau, attended the court on Tuesday for two consecutive days. She said the court’s arrangement for the 47-person case was “outrageous” and denounced it as “a scandal in the legal profession of Hong Kong”. She also mentioned that the prosecution asked the defendant not to answer yesterday, the case was postponed to May to resume the trial, may affect the outside world’s Perception of the court, that “how the Hong Kong court has become like this”.
Emily Liu criticized the legal profession scandal
Emily Lau: This is a scandal in Hong Kong’s legal profession. We often think that our judicial system is very fair, just and open. How can you put 47 people in the defendant’s box, lawyers and Family members do not have enough seats, not to mention the public spectators. I think this is outrageous.
Ren Quanniu, a Chinese human rights lawyer who has assisted the “12 Hong Kong people”, told the station that the Hong Kong court’s practice is comparable to the way trials are conducted in the mainland.
Ren Qunniu criticized that the practice is comparable to the way of interrogation in the mainland.
Ren Quanniu: The mainland may not be the same, especially in important cases, often will be instantly finished, and even no break at noon, some may not even eat, many times is only half an hour to eat dinner and then continue the court. The mainland has also held court in the early hours of the morning, and if you go to the bathroom in the middle, there are also court officers following. This is a very inhumane way to conduct a trial.
He also compared, in the mainland, even “12 Hong Kong people” and other important cases, the parties concerned can also meet with their family lawyers or government-appointed lawyers before the trial.
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