Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #HKAlliance
Most recents (6)
“He asked people to keep breathing” - a #thread about today’s mitigation of the now-disbanded #StudentPoliticism members in their #NSL case of “incitement to subversion” and ballooning issue of minimum sentence and PG discount in #NSL cases.
4 members of #StudentPoliticism Wong Yat-chin, Chan Chi-sum, Chu Wai-ying and Wong Yuen-lam, pleaded guilty in July to one count of “conspiracy to incite subversion”, an offence that carries up to 10 years in jail under #NSL. Mitigation began this morning.
Before D1 Wong Yat-chin’s lawyer started, prosecutor Vincent Lee raised in court that Wong’s FB page published a post 3 days ago in which Wong wrote he had no regret. Lee asked Wong’s lawyer to clarify whether Wong was not remorseful - an element to consider for commutation.
#DEVELOPNG Preliminary inquiry of #HKAlliance's "incitement to subversion" case has started this morning. Chow Hang-tung @zouxingtong told the court, "It's impossible to plead guilty. Pursuing democracy is not a crime. I plead not guilty." She is going to give evidence.
The prosecution submitted 58 statements from 39 witnesses, 136 pieces of documentary exhibits and a for now unclear number of video clips to the court as evidence. No witness will be called to court as a condition Chow agreed earlier in order to strike down reporting restriction.
History of June 4 crackdown in 1989 and over 3 decades of commemorations in Hong Kong comes back in vivid images in open court as Chow Hang-tung replays video footage submitted by the prosecution as evidence against the Alliance's alleged "incitement to subversion" offence.
This is a #thread to explain the reporting restrictions removed today and yesterday re the #NSL cases of 47 pro-dem activists "conspiracy to subversion" and of the #HKAlliance "incitement to subversion".
The ban is pursuant to article 87A of the Magistrates Ordinance and hence popularly known as the "87A ban" or simply "87A" in HK.
The ban covers a pre-trial procedure called "committal proceeding" - when a magistrate is supposed to scrutinize the allegation and...
The ban covers a pre-trial procedure called "committal proceeding" - when a magistrate is supposed to scrutinize the allegation and...
...decides whether the case is fit and ready for proceeding to formal trial. At this stage, a defendant can opt for a "preliminary inquiry" to go through the prosecution's evidence and examine the witnesses. If a defendant wins a PI, the case will be thrown out of court.
Given that the reporting restriction is lifted, I will detail the bail application proceeding that spans from ystd to this morning re the case of 5 #HKAlliance ex leaders charged for refusing to submit info demanded by #nationalsecurity police in this #thread.
The most significant point comes first, the play of bail under #NSL has evolved just now from blanket denial to undeniable bail with condition restricting the defendant's speech.
This morning, #NSL magistrate Peter Law granted bail to all 5 defendants in the case despite ...
This morning, #NSL magistrate Peter Law granted bail to all 5 defendants in the case despite ...
...lack of applications from D3 Simon Leung and D4 Chan To-wai with the usual bail conditions (cash, surety, reporting requirements, deposit of travel docs etc) and an additional #NSL condition imposed by the prosecution.
#BREAKING #NSL magistrate Peter Law granted bail for #HKAlliance ex leaders Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan, and Tsui Hon-Kwong in refusal to provide info case. But Chow will remain in custody for incitement to subversion case.
In his oral ruling, #NSL magistrate Peter Law said he denied bail for all five defendants at the 1st mention in Sep as he was not satisfied that they would not commit acts endangering national security and he minded the risks of them destroying evidence or helping others to flee.
“There have been some developments,” Law said. “The case has been widely reported and the police have raided the alliance’s premises and seized a huge amount of exhibits - that left an impression that the risks have been substantively reduced.”
HK DOJ is seeking to adjourn the pre-trial review for the trial of 5 #HKAlliance ex leaders for refusing to submit materials demanded by national security police till 29 Dec to wait for the leave application for the judicial review against the police notice’s legality set in Nov.
While the prosecution oppose bail for all 5 defendants, if adjournment is granted by #NSL magistrate Peter Law, that would mean the defendants will stay in jail for over 3 months since arrest in early September while the max penalty for the charge is only 6 months imprisonment.
The defense’s position opposing the adjourn lies upon the basis that the defendants are entitled to collateral challenge of the legality of the police notice in JR while the criminal trial of their non compliance to the notice goes on : Boddington v British Transport Police
