This week Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal rejected an appeal to overturn the convictions of Jimmy Lai and 6 other pro-democracy campaigners.
Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee, Margaret Ng, Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, ‘Long Hair’ Leung Kwok-hung, and Cyd Ho are being punished for taking part in peaceful protests on 18 August 2019. That day some 1.7 million people joined the demonstration at Victoria Park, once the site of the annual Tiananmen Square candlelight memorial demonstration, which has also become a victim of Hong Kong’s growing authoritarianism.
The story made headlines in the UK press, not simply because it’s yet another illustration of Hong Kong’s growing repression – but also because of a British judge’s complicity in it. Lord David Neuberger, former UK Supreme Court Justice, sits as a Non-Permanent Judge on the Hong Kong court and was among the 5 justices to hear the appeal. By participating in the process, he played a part in stripping 7 people of their fundamental rights, and sent a message to many, many more.
Neuberger also chairs the High-Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom under the global Media Freedom Coalition, a partnership of countries ‘working together proactively to advocate for media freedom at home and abroad’. It’s hard to reconcile Lord Neuberger’s continuing global media freedom advocacy with his involvement in a system that perpetuates authoritarian repression of free and independent media.
This is why, in light of this week’s verdict, ARTICLE 19 and others have called on the Media Freedom Coalition and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, which houses the High-Level Panel, to review Lord Neuberger’s role as Chair.
Ultimately, Lord Neuberger should resign from the Hong Kong court – and stop lending credibility to a system that is actively dismantling and making a mockery of the rule of law.
