In the first five months after the NSA came into effect, the police made 27 arrests involving 24 people on NSA charges, but at least seven of the cases, which were not related to the NSA, were investigated by the National Security Division of the police force, which has broader and more ambiguous powers. The human rights group Civil Rights Watch pointed out that the seven cases were related to the demonstrations of the anti-amendment movement since last year, and some of them happened before the National Security Law came into effect, questioning the procedural fairness and transparency of the authorities’ enforcement.
Yesterday, Civil Rights Monitor released a monitoring report on the implementation of the National Security Law from the third to the fifth month after its entry into force. The case of People Power Vice Chairman Tam Tak Chi illustrates the problem of the National Security Division of the police force using the enormous power granted by the National Security Law to investigate cases that are not related to the National Security Law. When the case was arraigned in court, the court referred the case to a designated judge under the National Security Law at the request of the Department of Justice, resulting in the defendant being denied bail pending trial, raising questions about the established procedures and policies.
Civil Rights Watch urges the government and the judiciary to make public as soon as possible the list of designated judges responsible for handling cases related to the National Security Law, and to explain the principles considered in appointing designated judges, as well as the procedures and policies for assigning cases to designated judges, which are considered important to maintain public confidence in the fairness and independence of the judicial process.
The report also points out that after the National Security Law came into effect, the social chilling effect continued and has spread to private commercial activities, with some merchants being threatened by the design of their products and their political stance, and eventually choosing to suspend their operations.
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