Swiss and Hong Kong Falun Gong Practitioners Win Appeal: Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Revokes Conviction

On May 5th 2005, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal made a ruling on the accusation against Swiss and Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners for obstructing and assaulting the police three years ago. The court ruling overturns the conviction made by a lower court. The summary of the verdict said peaceful demonstration is a constitutional right. Since peaceful demonstration and appeals are protected by the law, the arrest becomes illegal.

According to the Associated Press, the Hong Kong highest court quashed convictions against eight members of the Falun Gong spiritual group on Thursday. The eight had been accused of obstructing and assaulting the police during a protest in 2002. This case has been regarded as a critical test of Hong Kong’s judicial independence under China’s governance. The report quoted the summary of the decision: "The freedom to demonstrate peacefully is a constitutional right."

The report said the ruling might bolster confidence in Hong Kong's legal system, which has faced criticism in recent weeks that judicial independence is being eroded by meddling from the communist rulers in Beijing.

The case stemmed from a March 2002 protest held by Falun Gong practitioners against Mainland China's ban on Falun Gong. The spiritual movement was lawful in Hong Kong, but the authorities accused and arrested the demonstrators for assaulting and obstructing the police during a protest outside China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal announced their decision on Thursday. The verdict said that since the demonstration was legitimate, the arrests were illegal and the defendants shouldn’t be held accountable for their behaviour during detention.

The Central News Agency reported on the same day that Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners had filed an appeal to the Court of Final Appeal to challenge the police’s power. The court ruled that the police’s arrest was illegal and, therefore, the convictions of obstructing and assaulting police officers against Falun Gong practitioners should be quashed. A Falun Gong spokesman in Hong Kong expressed his delight in this court decision. He considered the ruling would provide protection to those people in Hong Kong who engage in peaceful demonstrations in the future.

The event occurred in March 2002 when sixteen Falun Gong practitioners protested on the sidewalk outside the Chinese government’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong. Police asked the practitioners to leave, but the order was not obeyed. All of the sixteen practitioners were arrested and accused of public obstruction subsequently. In addition, eight of them were also charged with wilfully obstructing and assaulting police officers.

However, Falun Gong practitioners denied the charges and appealed to higher courts. After more than two years of legal proceedings, a Hong Kong Court of Appeal overturned the conviction of public obstruction in late 2004 but upheld the other two charges. Five practitioners continued their appeal to the Court of Final Appeal.

In today’s verdict, the Court of Final Appeal pointed out that there are two prerequisites that should be fulfilled before the police can make legal arrests without an arrest warrant. First of all, somebody is suspected of committing a crime that should be imprisoned. Secondly, deliberation is needed to ensure such a suspicion is reasonable.

The ruling said the police’s actions were based on the information available in their pre-duty orientation and what they saw on the site. Although the police suspected there were people obstructing the public area, they didn’t actually have a good reason to suspect as the police did not recognise the practitioners were exercising their constitutional rights or whether their protest was reasonable. Furthermore, there was no on-site evidence to prove that practitioners had made any unreasonable behaviour that obstructed the public area.

The Court of Final Appeal said as the police’s arrest was illegal, every action that the police took against the practitioners in the police station should not be treated as the execution of police’s formal duties. Therefore, the charges of obstructing and assaulting police officers against Falun Gong practitioners should be dropped.