The Hong Kong Free Press Reports
Tong Ying-kit – who is accused of acts of terrorism and inciting secession – has been told a panel of hand-picked judges will preside over his trial due to fears about the personal safety of potential jurors and their families.
The first person to be charged under Hong Kong’s national security law is to seek the right to launch a judicial review against a Department of Justice decision to prosecute him without a jury present, his lawyer told the High Court during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday.
Tong Ying-kit’s trial has been set for late June after the court refused an application by his legal team for its postponement pending the possible judicial review.
Tong was charged with acts of terrorism and inciting secession last July, on the day after the security law was passed. The defendant, who was 23-years-old at the time, was arrested after he allegedly drove a motorcycle displaying the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” into three policemen. He was later denied bail, with the court ruling he was a “flight risk” and risked re-offending.
At the same hearing on Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced it will summon a history professor from Lingnan University as an expert witness. Professor Lau Chi-pang is expected to explain to the court the slogan’s allegedly secessionist intentions based on a historical interpretation of the phrases.
Tong’s counsel Lawrence Lok applied for a postponement of his client’s trial pending the judicial review bid and to allow the defence adequate time to find its own expert witness, according to CitizenNews. The court however refused his application, ruling in favour of the need to expedite proceedings.
Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng informed Tong’s legal team in early February of her department’s plans to prosecute him without a jury, citing concerns for the “personal safety” of jurors and their family members. Tong’s case will instead be tried by a bench of three national security law judges: Esther Toh, Wilson Chan and Anthea Pang.
