Hong Kong court dismisses appeal of Jimmy Lai, six other pro-democracy activists

Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Hong Kong's top court on Monday unanimously dismissed the final appeal of Jimmy Lai and six pro-democracy activists.

Lai, the 76-year-old media mogul and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper, and the six activists were convicted in 2021 on charges of organizing and participating in unlawful assembly during the mass protests that brought the former British colony to a standstill in the summer of 2019.

The defendants had previously successfully appealed against the charge of organizing the protests while upholding their participation offense. In their appeal to the top court on the remaining charge, the defendants argued that the imposition of criminal sanctions for an unauthorized though peaceful assembly was disproportionate and infringed upon their freedoms.

In rejecting their arguments, the Court of Final Appeal issued its ruling Monday after a hearing was held on the matter in June.

"The defendants' proposition is unsustainable," the court said. "It is contrary to all established principles governing constitutional challenges in Hong Kong and especially contrary to accepted principles for assessing proportionality. It is unsupported by legal authority."

The case was centered on Aug. 18, 2019, when some 1.7 million Hong Kongers took to the streets as the protest that began weeks earlier targeting a controversial extradition bill evolved into a pro-democracy demonstration following reports of police brutality.

Authorities had accused Lai and the other defendants of organizing and participating in a protest that became an illegal procession. The defense had argued that they were aiding to safely disperse the some 300,000 people from Victoria Park to Chater Road.

In their defense before the Court of Final Appeal, the defendants referred to two British Supreme Court rulings concerning what is called "operational proportionality." The defendants argued that the trial judge needed to perform an "operational proportionality" assessment in respect to their convictions, meaning to see whether their convictions were proportional to the restrictions on their human rights.

"It is impossible to see any basis for contending that, having decided that the charges, based on constitutionally valid provisions, had been proved, the trial judge was somehow obliged to refrain from convicting the defendants, but had to conduct an independent 'proportionality' exercise regarding the proposed conviction by reference to certain after-the-event considerations." the five-judge appeal court ruled.

The other six defendants in the case are Lee Cheuk-yan, 67, Leung Kwok-hung, 68, Cyd Ho, 70, Martin Lee, 86, Albert Ho, 72 and barrister Margaret Ng, 76.

They were sentenced to between eight and 18 months for the charges in April 2021.

Lai, who is serving other related sentences in a Hong Kong prison, is facing life imprisonment on charges under the city's draconian National Security Law that China imposed on Hong Kong in response to the protests.