JUSTIÇA

mai23

Hong Kong’s government has passed a law that allows authorities to ban foreign lawyers from working on national security cases, completing a months-long effort to block a UK lawyer from defending media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai.

The amendment, which was passed unanimously by the Legislative Council on Thursday, gives the chief executive the power to veto any foreign lawyer from working on cases brought under the 2020 National Security Law (NSL).

Lai, the founder of now defunct Apple Daily newspaper and a high profile pro-democracy figure, was first arrested in August 2020. He has since been charged with foreign collusion under the sweeping NSL, after calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and China over their crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. If convicted he could face life in prison.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/11/hong-kong-passes-law-to-limit-work-of-foreign-lawyers-amid-ongoing-jimmy-lai-case

ab23

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was sentenced Monday to three months in prison for breaching court bans on disclosing personal information about a police officer who injured a protester during 2019 anti-government protests.

Wong rose to prominence in 2014 pro-democracy protests in the Chinese territory and was in custody after he indicated his intention to plead guilty in the city’s biggest national security case, in which he faces a potential penalty of up to life in prison. Last year, he finished serving his sentences of about two years for three other cases after being convicted of multiple charges.

https://apnews.com/article/joshua-wong-hong-kong-protests-1fbab4b5bcf93dbb1b1452a799731c6e

dez22

China's top lawmaking body has given Hong Kong leader John Lee the power to bar foreign lawyers from national security cases, removing the decision from the city's courts, in a move likely to further fuel concerns over judicial independence.

The use of foreign lawyers by both prosecutors and the defence have long been part of the former British colony's rule of law traditions.

The move, reported by state news agency Xinhua on Friday, comes after a Hong Kong court this month postponed a national security trial against media tycoon and China critic Jimmy Lai to September, to give time for the ruling by China's National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC).

https://www.reuters.com/legal/china-gives-hong-kong-leader-power-bar-overseas-lawyers-national-security-cases-2022-12-31/

dez22

Hong Kong’s human rights lawyers are fleeing abroad amid an effort to cleanse the city of dissent. The pressure is part of a wider crackdown by the ruling Communist Party on lawyers across China, say activists, legal scholars and diplomats.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-lawyers-crackdown-exodus/

dez22

Hong Kong’s High Court ruled on Wednesday that a decision by police to ban a Tiananmen square vigil last year was “unlawful,” thereby overturning an earlier conviction against jailed pro-democracy activist Chow Hang-tung, who helped organize the event.

For three decades, Hong Kong has been the only place on Chinese-controlled soil allowed to publicly commemorate the events in and around Tiananmen Square, during which unarmed mostly student protesters were massacred by Chinese troops in 1989. Victoria Park, a large swath of open area in the crowded Hong Kong city center, has been the default venue where the candle vigil has been held.~

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/14/china/tiananmen-square-hong-kong-vigil-intl/index.html

dez22

A Hong Kong court on Saturday sentenced jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai to five years and nine months in prison for fraud, in the latest legal challenge against the pro-democracy tycoon.

Lai was found to have breached the terms of lease for the headquarters of his now defunct Apple Daily newspaper after concealing the operation of a consultancy that provided corporate secretarial services to private firms Lai controlled.

Along with the jail sentence, Lai was also fined 2 million Hong Kong dollars ($257,000) and disqualified as a company director for eight years.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/10/asia/jimmy-lai-hong-kong-prison-intl-hnk/index.html

nov22

Hong Kong’s leader has asked Beijing to interpret the city’s national security law after the top court upheld a decision allowing a British barrister to defend media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying against charges of collusion with foreign forces.

The State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office also weighed in on the ruling on Monday, saying the court decision had violated “the legislative spirit and legal logic” of the national security law. Beijing’s national security office in the city also backed Lee’s move.

Hours after the ruling by the Court of Final Appeal, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the secretary for justice would seek an adjournment of Lai’s national security trial, which is set to begin on Thursday.

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3201243/hong-kongs-top-court-upholds-decision-allow-british-barrister-defend-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-national?utm_medium=email&utm_source=cm&utm_campaign=enlz-today_hk&utm_content=20221129&tpcc=enlz-today_hk&UUID=be617a4ad94afe0506abc10685462f20&next_article_id=3201318&article_id_list=3201243,3201318,3201290,3201286,3201252,3201327,3201320,3201291&tc=4&CMCampaignID=95ccd7cb2c83cb30a2d2be2a5de3ccb6

out22

Five teenagers with a Hong Kong group advocating independence from Chinese rule were ordered by a judge on Saturday to serve up to three years in detention at a correctional facility, for urging an "armed revolution" in a national security case.

The five, some of whom were minors aged between 15 and 18 at the time of the alleged offence, had pleaded guilty to "inciting others to subvert state power" through a group named "Returning Valiant".

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/five-hong-kong-teenagers-sentenced-first-security-case-involving-minors-2022-10-08/

ag22

Hong Kong authorities should immediately drop the politically motivated charges and release 47 prominent elected legislators and activists charged under the abusive National Security Law, Human Rights Watch said today. Following the lifting of a media ban on August 18, 2022, it became public that the prosecution had named five of the defendants as “major organizers,” which suggests possible harsh sentences, up to life in prison.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/22/hong-kong-47-lawmakers-activists-face-unfair-trial

jul22

Barristers from a British law firm who are representing jailed Hong Kong tycoon and democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai said on Thursday they had received anonymous e-mails warning them against travelling to the city to defend him.

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/british-lawyers-defending-hong-kong-tycoon-say-they-receive-threats-2022-07-07/

mai22

Hong Kong judicial independence under systematic attack, legal figures warn Signatories of legal opinion say territory’s government is using continued presence of overseas judges as ‘vote of confidence’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/26/hong-kong-judicial-independence-overseas-judges

Abr22

IMPORANTE PONTO DA SITUAÇÂO

https://delitodeopiniao.blogs.sapo.pt/a-independencia-judicial-e-um-ramo-do-13892439

nov21

A Hong Kong court ruled on Wednesday that the former leader of pro-independence group Studentlocalism was guilty of secession under the city's sweeping national security law, as well as money laundering, following a plea bargain with the prosecution. Tony Chung, 20, was charged with the offences in October last year and denied bail. Local media reported at the time he was taken away along with two others from a coffee shop close to the U.S. consulate by unidentified men and was believed to be preparing for an asylum application. https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/former-leader-hong-kong-pro-independence-group-found-guilty-secession-2021-11-03/ + https://hongkongfp.com/2021/11/03/i-have-no-shame-in-my-heart-hong-kong-activist-tony-chung-pleads-guilty-to-secession-and-money-laundering/

jul21

Responding to the conviction of Hongkonger Tong Ying-kit for “inciting secession” and “acts of terrorism” following the first trial under the city’s 2020 national security law, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said:

“The conviction of Tong Ying-kit is a significant and ominous moment for human rights in Hong Kong. Today’s verdict underlines the sobering fact that expressing certain political opinions in the city is now officially a crime, potentially punishable by life in jail.

“To convict Tong Ying-kit of ‘secession’ for displaying a flag bearing a widely used political slogan is a violation of international law, under which expression must not be criminalized unless it poses a concrete threat. This feels like the beginning of the end for freedom of expression in Hong Kong. https://www.amnesty.org.au/hong-kong-first-national-security-law-conviction-is-beginning-of-the-end-for-freedom-of-expression/ 

jun21
Lei de Segurança Nacional que a China impôs a Hong Kong há um ano tem prejudicado seriamente seu sistema judicial, de acordo com advogados, que temem pelos direitos dos acusados e o futuro do Estado de Direito na cidade.
Desde a promulgação do texto há um ano, o sistema judicial de Hong Kong passou por muitas mudanças. A presença de um júri não é mais obrigatória e a fiança não é mais concedida sistematicamente aos acusados de violar esta lei.
"É como se uma espécie alienígena invadisse nosso território, uma tempestade de areia que não pode ser contida e que vem do norte", disse um advogado à AFP.
Este advogado é um dos quatro que defendem os acusados de violar a lei e que concordou em falar com a AFP sob condição de anonimato

https://www.swissinfo.ch/por/um-ano-depois--lei-de-seguran%C3%A7a-nacional-atinge-a-justi%C3%A7a-em-hong-kong/46748224 

mai21

Hong Kong Has a New Type of Prisoner: Pro-Democracy Activists
Hundreds of protesters, many students or college-educated, face potentially stiff sentences after Beijing’s crackdown. Those behind bars already battle isolation and disillusionment.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/world/asia/hong-kong-protests-prison.html


mai21

Em todo o caso, não deixa de ser preocupante que um tribunal se permita, independentemente de se poder discutir se foi um motim ou não, condenar os arguidos afirmando expressamente que não existe qualquer prova de que os arguidos tenham desempenhado qualquer papel efectivo no tumulto (riot).

Se a isto se somar a dispensa de uma jornalista por colocar perguntas difíceis em conferências de imprensa, começa-se a ter o filme completo da extensão da substituição do rule of law pelo rule by law. https://delitodeopiniao.blogs.sapo.pt/notas-curtas-12631130

ab21

Odissidente de Hong Kong, Joshua Wong, detido pelo seu papel nas manifestações pró-democracia de 2019, se declarou culpado junto com outros três acusados, por ter participado da tradicional vigília em memória do movimento de Tiananmen. https://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/internacional/2021/04/30/interna_internacional,1262065/quatro-ativistas-de-hong-kong-se-declaram-culpados-por-participar-de-vigili.shtml

abr21

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday the government could intervene if necessary in the Bar Association, whose chief has been labelled an “anti-China politician” by Beijing’s top representative office in the city. Paul Harris, chairman of the Bar Association, has been repeatedly targeted by pro-Beijing forces, with the latest remarks coming from the Liaison Office on Sunday criticising him for speaking out against jail terms handed down to several democracy activists this month. Speaking at her weekly press briefing, Lam said that while Hong Kong respects freedom of expression, there are limits. “For the time being I do not see the case for any government intervention into the affairs of the Hong Kong Bar Association,” Lam said. “But, of course, if there are instances or complaints about the bar not acting in accordance with the Hong Kong law, then of course the government would be called into action.” https://kfgo.com/2021/04/26/hong-kong-leader-says-govt-could-intervene-in-bar-association-if-necessary/ 

The central government’s denunciation against the chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association Paul Harris may be a “clear intrusion in the sphere of the legal profession [in Hong Kong],” but its impact on Macau’s legal community remains uncertain or minimal, local lawyer Sérgio de Almeida Correia told the Times.
The deep-rooted patriotism of Macau’s legal community, which Correia regarded as “very obedient and dependent on political power and business tycoons”, may prevent professionals in the region from being targeted by the Liaison Office for quite some time. https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/chinas-criticism-of-hk-legal-luminary-a-warning-for-lawyers-in-the-two-sars.html

abr21

Dez dos principais líderes do movimento pró-democracia de Hong Kong foram condenados a penas de prisão, nesta sexta-feira (16/04), por terem participado da organização de marchas durante os protestos antigovernamentais de 2019, que desencadearam uma repressão contundente de Pequim. Entre os condenados estão o magnata da comunicação Jimmy Lai, fundador do jornal Apple Daily, tabloide crítico do governo, e o proeminente advogado e ex-deputado Martin Lee, de 82 anos, considerado o pai da democracia de Hong Kong e que atua em prol dos direitos humanos desde os anos 1980, quando o território ainda era um colônia britânica. https://www.dw.com/pt-br/ativistas-de-hong-kong-recebem-penas-de-at%C3%A9-18-meses-de-pris%C3%A3o/a-57229863 

fev21
Nove activistas do chamado movimento pró-democracia começaram a ser julgados a partir desta terça-feira pelo Tribunal de Hong Kong. Entre eles estão Martin Lee de 82 anos, advogado que no passado tinha sido escolhido pelas autoridades chinesas para contribuir para uma mini-Constituição de Hong Kong, Margaret Ng de 73 anos, igualmente advogada e ex-deputada da oposição na Assembleia regional, e Jimmy Lay, patrão de media , actualmente detido, em virtude da nova lei de segurança nacional implementada no território. Os restantes acusados são membros da Frente para os Direitos Humanos (CHRF), a coligação que organizou uma série de enormes manifestações de protesto em 2019. https://www.rfi.fr/pt/mundo/20210216-in%C3%ADcio-de-julgamento-de-opositores-envolvidos-em-protestos-em-hong-kong

jan21
O juiz Andrew Cheung, novo responsável pela mais alta instância judicial de Hong Kong condenou as críticas contra os juízes daquele território considerando-as "fúteis". Comentários e críticas, às vezes extremos e ríspidos, são inevitáveis. Embora a liberdade de expressão de todos na sociedade deva ser respeitada, não pode haver tentativas de pressão contra os juízes no exercício de funções", afirmou Cheung. Por outro lado, Andrew Cheung disse que os tribunais da região administrativa têm de mostrar que são imparciais ou correm o risco de perderem a confiança dos cidadãos. Andrew Cheung, chefe do Departamento de Justiça, que tomou hoje posse em Hong Kong, disse que os juízes têm de ser cautelosos e mostrar imparcialidade quando fazem comentários em audiência ou no que escrevem durante os processos, sobretudo nos casos de natureza política. https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/1662799/responsavel-por-sistema-judicial-de-hong-kong-condena-criticas-a-juizes

“Do que precisamos em Hong Kong é uma Justiça independente”, defendeu o presidente do Tribunal de Apelação de Hong Kong, Geoffrey Ma, referindo-se ao temor de que os tribunais de Hong Kong se dobrem ao funcionamento da Justiça da China continental. “Há três artigos na Lei fundamental que ressaltam que a Justiça em Hong Kong é independente, e não devemos nos esquecer disso”, frisou este juiz, de 64 anos, referindo-se ao texto que funciona como a Constituição neste território.

https://istoe.com.br/juiz-mais-importante-de-hong-kong-defende-justica-independente/