Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Is Allowed to Hire British UK Barrister for National Security Case

Jimmy Lai’s UK lawyers receive threatening anonymous emails

Founder of now-closed pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. Profile Picture. Sung Pi-Lung/The Epoch Times

The founder of the now-closed Next Media and its pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, was charged with colluding with foreign forces under the National Security Law (NSL). Hong Kong’s Department of Justice (DOJ) lost its appeal against the High Court’s decision on Nov. 9 to let a UK barrister represent Lai in his upcoming trial. Meanwhile, Lai’s global legal team was warned not to travel to Hong Kong.

Lai, 74, faces a sentence of life-long imprisonment if convicted of colluding with foreign forces under the NSL. Prosecutors allege that Lai sought international sanctions against Hong Kong and China through his pro-democracy newspaper.

Prosecutors in the case alleged that Lai used the Apple Daily newspaper and conspired with Mark Simon, an American who was Lai’s right-hand man, together with Chan Tsz-wah, a legal assistant, activist Andy Li Yu-hin and a man called Lau Cho-dick, to call for foreign sanctions.

Oppose Hiring Queen’s Counsel to Defend Lai

The first trial was on Dec. 1, 2021. The dispute over the employment of British King’s Counsel Timothy Owen stems from the second case management hearing of the case on Sep. 30. The defense revealed that Jimmy Lai intended to employ a British King’s Counsel barrister to defend his case but was rejected by the Secretary for Justice and the Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA). Victor Dawes, S.C., the then chairman of HKBA, said that the application did not meet the usual standards for overseas barristers to accept cases in Hong Kong, so he objected to the court.

However, on Oct. 19, in a written judgment, a three-judge High Court panel made up of Susan Kwan, Carlye Chu, and Thomas Au backed that there was a “clear case” for allowing King’s Counsel Timothy Owen to represent Lai. The judgment said the case would attract “substantial publicity locally and abroad,” and that “public perception of fairness in the trial is of vital importance to the administration of justice,” and was in the public interest to bring in experienced overseas criminal and human rights law experts.

DOJ’s View Refuted by Court of Appeal

The DOJ refused to accept the verdict and filed an appeal to the High Court on Oct. 28. The DOJ pointed out that Chinese is the only official language of the “Hong Kong National Security Law,” and stated that the central ideology dominated the drafting of the NSL, and the CCP’s rubber stamp legislature also has the final interpretation power. It believes that Timothy Owen does not have the legislative background or relevant knowledge of the NSL to bring a unique perspective to the courtroom.

The DOJ’s appeal was eventually dismissed by the Court of Appeals. In its judgment, it stated that language was not a factor of consideration. Since the legal issues involved in the case are very complex, they will have the opportunity to be heard by a higher court of appeal or even the Court of Final Appeal in the future. They believe that the NSL was enacted for a short period of time, and eminent jurists participating in the trial will develop its jurisprudence. To contribute, the trial must also appear to the public to show that it was conducted fairly, and the court must adopt a flexible and sensible approach to make the decision that is in the best interest of the public.

According to the website of Tim Owen’s law group, his practice covers fraud, criminality, human rights, sanctions, and extradition. He has represented Wong Cho-shing, the defendant in a case of assaulting a pro-democracy activist, and Rurik Jutting, a British banker involved in the murder of two Indonesian women.

Global Legal Team: Legal Process Not Comply With International Laws

In addition, On Feb. 7, Doughty Street Chambers, a law firm in the UK, claimed in a statement that the British Queen’s Counsel Caoilfhionn Gallagher would lead a team of international lawyers and cooperate with experts in the field of international law and human rights to represent Jimmy Lai.

Gallagher said the closure of Apple Daily should serve as a warning to other multinational firms established in Hong Kong. “Companies operating in Hong Kong, regardless of what they do, need to look at this case very closely,” she said, adding that the message was: “toe the Beijing line, or you’ll be next.”

“What’s happened with Apple Daily is essentially the theft of a $150 million company,” she added, “with impunity and on very short notice.” 

Speaking to diplomats, journalists, and the international community at an event at the Press Club in Geneva, Gallagher said that the prosecution of Jimmy Lai violated international law and international standards and has attracted widespread condemnation, noting that Jimmy Lai is a British citizen.

The United Kingdom must speak out in support of Lai. In addition, Gallagher called on countries to take “concrete, robust steps” to protect Jimmy Lai and secure his release, and hold Chinese and Hong Kong authorities accountable for undermining human rights protections, freedom of speech, and the rule of law, he said.

Warned Not to Travel to Hong Kong to Defend Jimmy Lai

On Oct. 24, Gallagher mentioned in a symposium in the House of Lords of the British Parliament that since May of this year, people have impersonated her many times and sent emails to other barristers in the Doughty Street Chambers to which she belongs, the British Secretary of State for Security, and the former House of Commons. British and U.S. congressmen, including the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat. Among the emails received by politicians in the United Kingdom and the United States was a forged bill for legal services in Lai’s case. She questioned whether the fake emails would be used as evidence in Jimmy Lai alleged “colluding with foreign forces.”

Gallagher also said that her bank account had been hacked and that she had also received an email impersonating Luke de Pulford, the executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. She believes these things are dangerous to her and the people she represents.

The three lawyers representing Jimmy Lai claimed to have received threatening emails purportedly from the city’s national security police. Reuters provided that the trio had received anonymous emails warning them against traveling to Hong Kong to defend Lai.

References

https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/news/caoilfhionn-gallagher-qc-lead-team-international-lawyers-representing-jimmy-lai?fbclid=IwAR0RJI2cgMySC6IVdkl5N9apIGVtuyOTCTqA5rUzav2me8MjMrOTVVTKdCY）

https://www.doughtystreet.co.uk/news/geneva-media-freedom-experts-call-international-community-take-action-secure-jimmy-lais