A key prosecution witness in the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai took the stand this week despite concerns by United Nations officials that the witness may have been mistreated in detention.
Andy Li, a computer programmer who became a pro-democracy activist in 2019, presented evidence against Lai on Wednesday. Lee’s testimony related to his role in a crowdfunding campaign to support Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Prosecutors accused British citizen Jimmy Lai of orchestrating the crowdfunding campaign. The 76-year-old was charged with “colluding with foreign forces” and inciting rebellion under the national security law. Lai rejects the accusations. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Meanwhile, Li was arrested in China in 2020 along with several others. A Washington post An investigation last year found that Li had been mistreated in Chinese custody.
The report, based on CCTV footage, letters and interviews with people familiar with the matter, details solitary confinement, sleep deprivation, lights constantly on in cells and detainees forced to sit in uncomfortable positions.
Screams were heard from time to time in Li’s cell; According to the Washington Post.
Experts say the findings raise questions about whether his testimony against Jimmy Lai was coerced or not credible.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, head of Jimmy Lai’s international legal team, posted on the social media platform X, “Andy Li should not have provided evidence at all. But please remember that everything he said is unreliable.”
In January, Alice Jill Edwards, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture, wrote to Chinese authorities expressing her concerns about the circumstances surrounding Li’s testimony.
“I am deeply concerned that the evidence expected to be presented against Jimmy Lai may have been obtained through torture or other unlawful treatment,” she wrote. “These allegations must be immediately investigated before any evidence is included in the current proceedings.” Investigate.”
Neither Hong Kong’s security bureau nor the judiciary immediately responded to VOA’s request for comment on Lee’s testimony. Authorities have previously dismissed accusations that Jimmy Lai’s trial was unfair.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed concern about Lee’s testimony in a statement on Friday.
Cédric Alviani, Asia-Pacific director of Reporters Without Borders, said: “Hong Kong prosecutors must be desperate to provide convincing evidence against Jimmy Lai, but they rely on a man who has been tortured and forcibly detained in a mental hospital. The testimony of the witnesses was unconvincing.”
“Such testimony can never be considered reliable evidence and will only once again highlight the false nature of this trial. We once again call on democratic countries to increase pressure on the Chinese authorities to release Jimmy Lai and 11 others detained in the country.” Defender of press freedom in the region,” Alviani said.
Media and rights activists say Lai’s trial is emblematic of Hong Kong’s rapid decline in press freedom following the introduction of China’s national security law in 2020.
The Chinese government and Hong Kong officials have dismissed criticism that the law harms the region’s media environment.
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