Prosecuting large numbers of Occupy activists 'not in public interest'
Former chief prosecutor warns against trying to convict large numbers of protesters, saying it would clog up the courts and be unpopular
Public prosecutors would be acting against the public interest if they brought each and every Occupy Central protester to court instead of focusing their efforts on the "ringleaders", a former chief prosecutor said.
To do so could clog up the courts for years and would only generate more social sympathy, if not demonstrations, in support of the civil disobedience movement, said Grenville Cross SC.
Prosecution, he reiterated, was "a sanction of last resort".
It should not apply to all arrested protesters even if enough evidence was found, said Cross, who ended 12 years as director of public prosecutions in 2009.
In response, the Department of Justice said its paramount consideration was to "maintain the rule of law and to act in the best interest of Hong Kong".
In any prosecutions, the department said, "relevant considerations include whether the available evidence supports a reasonable prospect of conviction and, if so, whether it is in the public interest to prosecute".