UN expert says China used torture to obtain evidence in Hong Kong trial

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 1st Feb. UN human rights expert on Wednesday has called for China to address torture claims in connection with the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, in après statement issued in New York.

Special Rapporteur Alice Edwards warned that evidence obtained through torture must not be admissible, urged Chinese authorities to investigate allegations that evidence from a key prosecution witness had been obtained through torture. 

“The absolute prohibition of reliance on evidence obtained as a result of torture or other ill-treatment in any proceedings is a fundamental protection,” she said.

According to OHCHR, Mr. Lai was arrested in August 2020 and charged with sedition and foreign collusion under a new security law after tweets, interviews and articles published in his newspaper, the Apple Daily.

He was convicted of unauthorized assembly in 2021 for his participation in previous protests and sentenced to 17 months in prison. He was sentenced to an additional five years and nine months for fraud in October 2022.  

Ms. Edwards and other rights experts in a statement called for his immediate release.

She expressed alarm at the “multiple and serious violations” of Mr. Lai’s right to freedom of assembly and a fair trial. 

They highlighted with concern “the denial of access to a lawyer” of Mr. Lai’s choosing “and the handpicking of judges by the authorities”.

Human rights experts reiterated concerns that the national security law used to convict Mr. Lai and 47 other pro-democracy activists last year is not in line with international legal obligations and should be repealed.