Hong Kong top court allows bid by Jimmy Lai, 6 former opposition lawmakers to have convictions over banned 2019 march overturned

The pending debate before a full panel of five judges in the top court is expected to shed light on a 2021 landmark decision by the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, which ruled by a majority that a statutory defence of lawful excuse could be established if authorities had violated a protester’s basic rights.

The Court of Appeal earlier ruled that prosecutors had enough evidence to establish a charge of organising an unauthorised assembly against the seven, but endorsed the trial judge’s ruling that the group had nonetheless taken part in the illegal gathering.

Prosecutors on Friday asked the top court to restore the seven’s previous convictions of the organisation offence, but the bench agreed with the lower appellate court’s ruling and barred them from taking the complaint further.

The Court of Final Appeal adjourned a ruling on a separate constitutional challenge by some of the appellants on a provision under the Public Order Ordinance giving rise to the unauthorised assembly offence.

Mastermind and team leader of plot to bomb officers in Hong Kong plead guilty

They argued their attempt was not precluded by a 2005 landmark ruling by the top court, which upheld the legality of a notification scheme requiring protesters to obtain police approval to stage demonstrations.

Mr Justice Roberto Ribeiro, one of three judges sitting in Friday’s hearing, expressed reservations about the relevance of the 2005 decision, saying that the notification regime was never challenged at trial.

Instead, the court’s main concern was whether the seven’s prosecution was disproportionate in light of the maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment provided by the unauthorised assembly offence, the judge continued.

Ribeiro and fellow justices Joseph Fok and Johnson Lam Man-hon have reserved their judgment until an unspecified date.

Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee, ex-lawmakers convicted over unauthorised Hong Kong protest

Suspended jail sentences were handed to Martin Lee and ex-legislators Albert Ho Chun-yan and Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee.

Former politicians Au Nok-hin and Leung Yiu-chung, who received 10 months behind bars and a suspended jail sentence, respectively, did not file an appeal.

The Court of Appeal reduced the sentences of Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho upon their partially successful appeal, but they had completed their respective sentences by the time the verdict was delivered two months ago.