Hong Kong Bar Association chief urges critics to assess Jimmy Lai verdict fairly
Jose-Antonio Maurellet says city’s rule of law remains ‘alive and strong’ as conviction of former media boss comes under scrutiny
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, association chairman Jose-Antonio Maurellet reaffirmed that Hong Kong’s judicial independence and the rule of law were “alive and strong”.
“In many jurisdictions, whether near or far from Hong Kong, a lot of judgments will raise a lot of controversy because society has become quite split in terms of its values,” he said, adding it was inevitable that intense feelings emerged over verdicts involving certain people or issues.
“Very often, what people will look at is not the reasoning … I doubt that many people who have said what they’ve stated have had the time to fully digest the entirety of the judgment.
“We, as lawyers, what we can do is simply invite people, in particular the people in Hong Kong, to go back, to look at what the law says, look at how it was applied, and to have trust and confidence as we have in the judicial process.”