Marathon bail hearing for 47 Hong Kong democracy activists enters fourth day
04 March, 2021
Marathon bail proceedings for 47 Hong Kong democracy activists charged with conspiracy to commit subversion enter their 4th working day on Thursday (Mar 4), in a landmark case following the most sweeping make use of yet of the city's national security legislation.
Foreign diplomats and legal rights groups are closely monitoring the case as concerns mount above the vanishing space for dissent on the ex - British colony, which includes considered a swift authoritarian turn because the imposition of regulations in June 2020.
Hundreds of folks were lining up in the court showing their support for the defendants, with the hearing thanks to start out at 10am.
"The kids wanted to arrive," said Candy, a good 40-year-old housewife who started queuing before 5am with her two children. "This is a declaration of my support."
The hearings have gone on late in to the night for three consecutive days, triggering several defendants to fall ill and become sent to the hospital.
Many of the defendants dismissed their legal representatives and plan to add considerably more testimony with their submissions to the court. Hong Kong regulations restrict media insurance policy coverage of this content of bail hearings.
On the other hand with the global fiscal hub's common law traditions, the brand new security law puts the onus on defendants to prove they'll not pose a security threat if released on bail.
The activists, aged 23 to 64, are accused of organising and participating in an unofficial main poll last July that authorities said was portion of an idea to "overthrow" the government.
The vote, where not all of the accused were winners, was targeted at selecting the strongest opposition prospects for a legislative council election that the federal government soon after postponed, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The detentions have already been fiercely criticised by governments in the West, including in Britain and America.
Supporters of the reliability regulation, which punishes what it again broadly defines due to secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up alive in prison, say it's important to restore stability found in Hong Kong after a few months of protests in 2019.
Among those charged were the organiser of the primary election and former regulation professor Benny Tai, as well as prominent democracy campaigners Lester Shum, Joshua Wong, Owen Chow, Wu Chi-wai and Sam Cheung.
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