Fury as UK barrister agrees to prosecute activists in Hong Kong
A British QC has been urged to reconsider his ‘‘appalling’’ decision to agree to prosecute pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
David Perry QC is being brought in to handle the trial of Jimmy Lai, a publisher and high profile critic of the Chinese state, and eight other campaigners accused of organising an illegal anti-government march.
Lee Cheuk-yan, the organiser of the annual Tiananmen Square vigil in Hong Kong, Martin Lee Chuming, known as the territory’s ‘‘Father of Democracy’’, and veteran activist ‘‘Long Hair’’ Leung Kwokhung are among the defendants.
All of the accused are charged with organising an unauthorised assembly and knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly on August 18 2019.
Overseas barristers may be flown in to help with difficult legal cases in the territory. On Tuesday, the Court of First Instance granted the Department of Justice’s application to hire Perry to handle the case, noting its complexity and significant impact on freedom of assembly in future. The trial is set for February 16.
Perry, who practises at the London chambers 6KBW College Hill, has taken part in a number of high profile cases in Hong Kong. He has also appeared for the UK Government at the European Court of Human Rights.
His involvement in the case next month, first reported by the South China Morning Post, has sparked a backlash among senior politicians. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and co-chairman of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, said: ‘‘It’s appalling.’’
He told The Daily Telegraph: ‘‘His involvement in prosecuting decent people in a system that has completely changed and is now under the control of the Chinese Communist Party must ultimately amount to blood money.
‘‘I call on him, if there’s a shred of decency in him, to withdraw and withdraw quickly.’’
Tobias Ellwood, Conservative chairman of the Commons defence select committee, said: ‘‘I think it raises huge ethical questions – a British QC choosing to side with the
Chinese at this very, very sensitive time.’’
He also put pressure on Perry ‘‘to reconsider representing the interests of an authoritarian regime’’.
Lord Adonis, a former Labour cabinet minister, wrote on Twitter: ‘‘It is shameful that British lawyers should be part of the repressive apparatus of the Chinese state.’’
The Telegraph attempted to reach Perry for comment.