Lawmakers have demanded answers from the government over allegations that it colluded with US and British secret services to deport a suspected Libyan terrorist, his wife and four young children to their homeland in 2004, where he faced torture and persecution.
The government remains silent on the alleged secret rendition of Sami al-Saadi (pictured), a case that has attracted international attention and prompted a lawsuit against the British government and the threat of legal action in Hong Kong.
In a letter sent to the Hong Kong Department of Justice last week, Saadi's lawyers set out the sequence of events that led to his family being forced onto an EgyptAir flight at Chep Lap Kok airport that took them to a military base in Tripoli.
The family was then transferred to a prison and Saadi was tortured, beaten and later placed on death row. His lawyers have accused the Hong Kong government of complicity to torture, conspiracy to injure, misfeasance in public office and negligence.
Before the secret flight in March 2004, the family had spent almost two weeks in Hong Kong under armed guard, without an explanation of why they were being detained.
Since it came to light in October, the Security Bureau and the Department of Justice have refused to discuss details of the case or even confirm Hong Kong's involvement.
James To Kun-sun, a Democratic Party legislator and chairman of the Legislative Council security panel, said he hoped to question the government formally before the end of the July session on whether the rendition happened, and if so, its rationale. 'If the government feels that it is not part of the scandal and did not deliberately act in a malicious manner, it's better to come clean.'