Opinion

Why those who threaten Hong Kong’s judges deserve no mercy

Since the anti-government protests, courts have been firebombed and judges threatened

The rule of law is Hong Kong’s foundation stone, and anybody who endangers it must face the full force of the law

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Police officers stand guard outside West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on March 7 before the arrival of an activist charged under the national security law. Photo: Dickson Lee

Grenville Cross SC is a criminal justice analyst, a barrister (senior counsel), and a life senator of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP).

Published: 6:45am, 2 Jun 2021Updated: 11:06am, 2 Jun 2021

On May 28, District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock sentenced 10 defendants to terms of imprisonment ranging from 14 to 18 months. The defendants, who included Next Media founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, activist Figo Chan Ho-wun and former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, had earlier pleaded guilty to organising an unauthorised assembly on National Day in 2019, the maximum penalty for which is five years’ imprisonment.

The judge noted that the rally they organised saw petrol bombs being thrown along or near the procession route, and other acts of criminal damage, arson and violence. She told the defendants that “actions have consequences for everyone, irrespective of who they are”.

Soon after the sentences were imposed, Woodcock received three telephone calls, conveying intimidatory and insulting messages, directed at her and her family.