torsdag 11. mai 2023

Hong Kong passes law to limit work of foreign lawyers amid ongoing Jimmy Lai case

Hong Kong’s government has passed a law that allows authorities to ban foreign lawyers from working on national security cases, completing a months-long effort to block a UK lawyer from defending media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai. The amendment, which was passed unanimously by the Legislative Council on Thursday, gives the chief executive the power to veto any foreign lawyer from working on cases brought under the 2020 National Security Law (NSL).

Lai, the founder of now defunct Apple Daily newspaper and a high profile pro-democracy figure, was first arrested in August 2020. He has since been charged with foreign collusion under the sweeping NSL, after calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and China over their crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. If convicted he could face life in prison.