Testimony provided by a key witness in the trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai should be inadmissible over the high probability that the witness was subjected to torture while in a Chinese prison, an international group of lawmakers has said.
The concerns raised by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) were a response to Andy Li, 33, a computer programmer turned pro-democracy activist, who took the stand in a Hong Kong court on March 13, where he provided information about two companies the prosecution linked to Mr. Lai. The prosecutors claimed the two companies aided an activist group to begin a global advertising campaign during 2019’s pro-democracy protests.
Before the trial, Mr. Li was one of the 12 Hongkongers caught by the Chinese coastguard in a foiled attempt to flee to Taiwan by speedboat in August 2020 and had been jailed for 7 months in a prison in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
IPAC, an international cross-party group that Mr. Li had once volunteered for, said there is good evidence to suggest that Mr. Li was tortured in Shenzhen, which is a common fate for political prisoners in China.
“On the strength of the evidence, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has made representations to Beijing. This alone discredits Andy’s testimony, and should, in any rule-of-law jurisdiction, render his evidence inadmissible,” reads a statement by IPAC on X on March. 14.
“It further explains how Andy could identify Jimmy Lai as the mastermind behind the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement - a demonstrably false assertion,” it read.
Mr. Li previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces with Mr. Lai over his role in an international campaign to invite “hostile activities” against the city.
On March 13, he took the witness stand to testify for the prosecution after confirming his guilty plea.
While he did not mention Mr. Lai during the hearing, he testified that two companies—LAIS Hotel Properties Limited (LAIS Hotel) and Dico Consultant Limited (Dico)—helped give advance payments for the advertising campaign, also known as “Stand with Hong Kong,” in 2019 to buy advertisements in major international newspapers that called on G20 nations to “stand with” Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
The prosecution had earlier alleged the two companies belonged to Mr. Lai.
“The group was very supportive of the idea, and—at that time—we were thinking about how to bring those very eye-catching protest scenes and the momentum to the world stage,” he said in Cantonese on the 44th day of the trial.
Mr. Lai, 76, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the national security law, including calling for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong officials, and one count of conspiring to publish “seditious” materials under colonial-era legislation.
Prosecutors told the court that Mr. Li and other anonymous participants published adverts in 13 countries, including the United States, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. He sourced HK$6.73 million ($ 860,000) on two crowdfunding platforms using the alias Tony Lo.
Luke de Pulford, the IPAC’s director, said: “Andy’s evidence shouldn’t be admissible on the basis of his alleged torture alone, but this case isn’t about the law. It’s a political persecution where Andy Li is tragic collateral.”
The condemnation was echoed by politicians and alleged conspirators in Mr. Lai’s case, who also refuted allegations in the prosecution.
Alleged conspirators Magnitsky Justice founder and financier Bill Browder, Hong Kong activist Finn Lau, and former Japanese House of Representatives member Shiori Kanno accused the prosecution of farcical proceedings, with Mr. Browder and Ms. Kanno adding that they never met or spoke with Jimmy Lai, at any point.
“Me being named as a co conspirator shows the absolute absurdity of this prosecution,” said Mr. Browder.
“People like Andy are suffering torture because the international community failed to keep its promises to the problem of Hong Kong,” said Mr. Lau.
‘Pattern of Persecution’
IPAC said that what is occurring in the case is typical of how the Chinese authorities have dealt with Hong Kong’s democratic movement.“This pattern of persecution is consistent with Beijing’s attempts to delegitimize the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, which was an initiative for and by the people of that city, not masterminded by any individual or group,” IPAC said.
“The continued detention of Andy Li and Jimmy Lai is a matter of international shame for the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, exposing the law as a tool of the government, and advertising to the world that the city is an unsafe business destination. Both men should be freed without delay, along with other political prisoners.”
The U.N. special rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards, earlier wrote to the Chinese authorities in January, stating her concern about Mr. Li’s testimony.
“I am deeply concerned that evidence that is expected to be presented against Jimmy Lai imminently may have been obtained as a result of torture or other unlawful treatment,” Ms. Edwards said.
“An investigation into these allegations must be conducted immediately before any evidence is admitted into these present proceedings.”
